Clermont-Oyonnax: 15-15
After three defeats in a row, the ASM hoped to relaunch against the red lantern. But, symbol of their crisis of confidence, the Auvergnats conceded a draw at the last minute, the second of their season. Christophe Urios’ men even chased the score for a good part of the match. Faced with their ineffectiveness (chances wasted by Raka 7th, or the pack, 17th), Oyonnax took the mark through the foot of its scorer, Domingo Miotti (10th). Under terrible weather, it was then a goal-scoring dialogue with Jules Plisson.
In this little game, Clermont, who continued to waste his testing opportunities (48th, forward in the Oyonnax goal), waited until the hour mark to go in front (60th). But Oyo held on and took advantage of one last gift: while there was one minute left to play, Jules Plisson, from 22 m, wanted to clear his camp, but his kick… ended up in dead ball! On the following scrum, the Oyonnax pack obtained the penalty and obtained the draw, thanks to the boot of Miotti, again.
Pau-Bayonne: 44-40
A completely crazy and unbridled match in this Pyrenees derby. Eleven tries were up for grabs, five for the Palois, six for the Bayonnais, who at the end of a final offensive sought a deserved defensive bonus for – appreciate the irony – all of their offensive work… The Bayonnais saw two of their attempts refused (20th, 28th) but never let up their efforts. At the break, the Section Paloise led 15-5, but we had not yet seen the best.
In the second half, the two teams went blow for blow, or rather good blow for good blow, by multiplying the attacks. Even the referee, Mr. Praderie, got in tune, granting two penalty tries (62nd, 64th), one on each side, and three yellow cards (two against Bayonne, one against Pau) between the 62nd and 73rd, which freed up space. With fifteen points, the English opener from Pau made the difference.
Montpellier – Bordeaux-Bègles: 10-3
In very complicated weather conditions – the department of Hérault had been placed on orange alert this Saturday – Montpellier, long the bottom of the Top 14 and in crisis during the first months of the competition, won a fourth victory in a row , the seventh in nine meetings, dominating Bordeaux (10-3).
In the rain and against the wind in the first half, UBB never managed to get their hands on the ball and leave their camp and conceded the only try of the match on an inspiration from Cobus Reinach in the five meters from the Girondins (37th). At the restart, despite regaining possession, Yannick Bru’s men made too many mistakes to overthrow Montpellier, who took the opportunity to move a little further away from the red zone.
Lyon-Castres: 34-19
Perhaps one day we will know the answer. Why are the Lyonnais so absent away and performing more than satisfactory at home, despite inevitably being under heavy pressure? Against Castres, Fabien Gengenbacher’s players were able to defend and materialize their highlights in the first period with two tries from Jordan Taufua, for his return, and Liam Allen just before the break. Not easy with an opponent who remained in the match thanks to the foot of Pierre Popelin and was waiting for a small breakdown in confidence. But Lyon validated its first highlight at the restart with a try under the posts by Feao Fotuaika, rewarding the hard work of the Lyon forwards to widen the gap.
Failing to score a fourth try despite the opportunities and multiplying the mistakes, the Lyonnais, increasingly nervous, saw Castres come back with a try from Florent Vanverberghe depriving them of the bonus. But in character, in a scenario similar to that against Oyonnax, the Lyonnais finally scored a new try after the siren, synonymous with an offensive bonus, on a ball carried by Guillaume Marchand.
