ProD2, r10: Oyonnax make it a magnificent seven (straight wins) but Agen extend lead

08 November 2009

The top three teams in ProD2 all won at the weekend, but leaders SU Agen still manage to extend their advantage thanks to a bonus-point 41-11 victory at basement club Lannemezan.

The win-less hosts started brightly enough and were 6-3 ahead at half-time thanks to a couple of successful Manuel Cascarra penalties. But the 39th-minute yellow card for Nicolas Sentous proved costly, with Agen managing their first try in reply soon after the resumption through Jalil Narjissi.

Seven minutes later Junior Pelesasa went over for try number two, with Romain Sola adding both conversions and a penalty shortly after to stretch the lead to 20-6.

The leaders were completely dominant at this point and added tries through Opeti Fonua (53 minutes), Cyril Chavet (67) and Rupeni Caucaunibuca (76) to complete the second-half drubbing. Sola kicked two more conversions, with Scott Daruda kicking the last as Agen racked up 38 points after the break.

Lannemezan did at least have the last word when Cyril Lin touched down for the home side in the final minute, but their ProD2 adventure is looking increasingly temporary by the week.

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Second-placed Oyonnax maintained their excellent current run by beating Pau 16-9 to make it seven consecutive league wins.

Last year's play-off finalists had full-back Sylver Tian to thank for their latest victory as the 29-year-old scored all of their points - via three penalties and a try - to help fight back from a 6-3 half-time deficit.

The turning point three minutes after the restart, with Tian claiming 10 points in five minutes to give the home side a 13-6 lead. Pau fly-half Andre Hough kicked one more penalty for the visitors - to add to his earlier brace - and thus ensured a defensive bonus.

Third-placed RC Narbonne remain level with Oyonnax on 33 points following their 27-20 home win against Tarbes on Sunday.

An outbreak of swine flu forced Tarbes to postpone last week's game with Lyon and the visitors got caught cold on Saturday as they slipped to an early 12-3 deficit following tries from Guillaume Borwin and Jeandre Fourie.

Adrien Domec's 22nd-minute reply, along with Krist Kopetsky's conversion, narrowed the scores to 12-10, but Narbonne managed a third try right on the whistle for half-time, with Aziz Benali claiming the score. Christopher Ruiz kicked the extras to leave the home side 22-10 up and looking for a possible attacking bonus.

Manaia Salavea's 52nd-minute try raised hopes further, but Tarbes hit back with two late scores through Thomas Lasserre (67 minutes) and Mickaël Etcheverria (79) to grab the bonus (defensive) for themselves.

Lyon OU hung on to fourth spot after earning a share of the spoils with a 15-15 away draw at Mont-de-Marsan. The kickers dominated proceedings here with Thibault Duvallet and Pierre-Yves Montagnat landing five penalties apiece, for Mont-de-Marsan and Lyon respectively.

But while the two points gained kept Lyon in the top four - despite having played a game less - Mont-de-Marsan now find themselves 13th and just seven points off the drop-zone in their first season after relegation from Top 14. The flip side is that there are just four points between themselves and sixth-placed La Rochelle - further evidence of the even nature of ProD2 this year.

Grenoble remain in the final play-off berth after winning 17-15 away to FC Auch Gers. The hosts edged a close first half thanks to Benjamin Feilles outkicking Damien Vidal by three penalties to two, but Grenoble hit back with an Andrew Farley try five minutes after the restart. Vidal went on to add another penalty and a drop-goal as the visitors went 17-12 ahead, with Feilles setting up a nervous finale by landing a 73rd-minute penalty.

La Rochelle climbed from ninth to sixth in a congested mid-table due to their 29-10 home win against Dax.

There wasn't much in at half-time as Laurent Diaz's early try for Dax was cancelled out by Tamato Leopolu's score, but the hosts moved steadily ahead after the break.

Romain Lacoste added two quick penalties to his earlier brace before Nicolas Brindel touched down after an hour. Piula Faasalele's 77th-minute effort stretched the eventual lead further, leaving Dax to lick their wounds after a second successive reverse.

Elsewhere, Union Bordeaux-Bègles registered a 31-9 bonus-point home win against Colomiers thanks to three second-half tries.

The home side were 12-9 up at the interval with Raphael Lagarde (four pens) narrowly outpointing Frederic Couzier (three pens), but eased clear afterwards through scores from Maxime Machenaud, Seti Filo and Hugh Chalmers. Camille Lopez kicked two of the three conversions as Union collected their first attacking bonus of the season.

In the weekend's other match Aix-en-Provence stumbled to their seventh defeat in 10 as they went down 38-19 at Aurillac.

English fly-half Rory Teague kicked 23 points, with the others coming via second-half tries from Graydon Staniforth, Germain Portero and a 76th-minute penalty try.

But just as Aurillac were celebrating a rare attacking bonus it was snatched from right under their noses when Vincent Noutary crossed for a last-minute try for the visitors. Up until then Provence had been restricted to four Antonie Lescalmel penalties, but despite this latest defeat they remain just three points off Colomiers with a third of the regular season now gone.

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