ProD2, r11: SU Agen consolidate top spot; Win-less Lannemezan continue losing streak

23 November 2009

Rupeni Caucaunibuca scored his third try in seven games to help SU Agen win 21-16 at Colomiers and maintain their five-point lead in ProD2.

The Fijian's ninth-minute try opened the scoring at Colomiers, with Romain Sola adding the conversion for good measure as the visitors went 7-0 ahead. Two Frédéric Pujo penalties temporarily brought the hosts back to near parity before an 11-point burst either side of half-time took Agen 18-6 clear. Sola kicked a brace of penalties, adding to Adri Badenhorst's 41st-minute try.

Pujo and Scott Daruda then traded three points apiece before Frédéric Couzier went over for the home side nine minutes from time to secure a hard-earned defensive bonus that helped keep them just above the drop zone.

Agen's latest win, meanwhile, was their ninth in 11 games and their fourth in succession as they seek to live up to their pre-season tag of promotion favourites. They remain five points clear of Lyon OU, who were the only team to win out of three that were tied in second place going into the weekend.

Lyon's 20-8 home win over RC Narbonne - who were one of those three teams - featured three tries and extended their unbeaten run to seven matches, including two away draws.

ProD2 Table / ProD2 Transfers / ProD2 Fixtures & Results

Number eight Nicolas Bontinck opened the scoring with his 10th-minute try, and there was a further first-half effort from James Bailey, the former London Irish and Gloucester winger, as he touched down for the third try of his debut season in the 23rd minute.

A Jeandre Fourie penalty got Narbonne on the board 10 minutes before the interval, and the visitors edged nearer again after replacement scrum-half Brice Chevchenko went over in the 54th minute. But hopes of an unlikely win were dashed when Jandre Mynhardt was yellow-carded 10 minutes later, with Lyon closing the stronger and eventually sealing the victory with Pierre-Yves Montagnat's late try and conversion.

The latter's seven points kept him well clear at the head of ProD2's scoring charts, with the former Oyonnax full-back having racked up an impressive 138 so far, including four tries.

Oyonnax were tied with Lyon and Narbonne heading in to round 11 but their seven-match winning streak finally ended with a 17-10 away defeat at Union Bordeaux-Bègles.

Last year's play-off finalists trailed 11-0 at half-time after six points from Raphaël Lagarde and Czech winger Martin Jagr's first try for Bordeaux since signing from Toulon in the summer.

Lagarde added two more penalties after the break, with Oyonnax's reply limited to a lone three-pointer from Sébastien Bouillot until Jérôme Naves went over in the final minute. Bouillot's subsequent conversion at least grabbed the visitors a previously unlikely defensive bonus, a crucial point that enabled them to claim outright third place behind Lyon.

Grenoble remain in fifth spot, but have now trimmed the gap on fourth-placed Narbonne to a single point after a late rally saw them fight back to win 15-13 at Aix-en-Provence, registering their second successive away victory in the process.

The hosts opened up a 10-3 lead on 24 minutes following Vincent Noutary's converted try, and even escaped unscathed during Alexandre Valdant's 10-minute expulsion either side of the interval. The former Fédérale 1 side looked to be on for only their third league win since promotion when Antoine Lescalmel's second penalty success made it 13-3 after quarter of an hour in the second half, but Wylie Human touched down for Grenoble to offer the visitors renewed hope with 12 minutes to go.

The comeback was then completed when replacement flanker Roland Bernard scored their second try just eight minutes later to leave the scores tied at 13-13. Pierre-Alexandre Dut's subsequent conversion then gave Grenoble the lead - for the first time in the match - and they hung on for the final four minutes to seal the valuable away win.

Provence remain in the relegation zone after their last-gasp defeat, three points behind 14th-placed Colomiers but now 10 ahead of basement club Lannemezan after the latter's win-less campaign continued with a 25-12 away defeat to local rivals Pau.

The visitors quickly went 6-0 ahead thanks to a brace of early penalties from Manuel Cascarra but Pau responded with three points from Sebastien Descons and a converted Emmanuel Maignien try on the quarter hour.

The home side went further ahead thanks to Clément Darbo's 28th-minute try, but two more Cascarra penalties left it tantalisingly placed 15-12 to Pau at the interval.

Descons' 61st-minute penalty was the only score of the second half until Bruno Hiriart crashed over with seven minutes remaining to seal a bonus-point win for Pau that lifted them up to seventh spot.

Lannemezan, on the other hand, have now lost all 11 of their games and have accrued just four points in that run as they remain rooted to foot of the table.

La Rochelle were the only other side to gain an attacking bonus point in round 11 after their 20-6 home win against FC Auch Gers, who have now lost five of their last six matches as they continue to slide towards the nether regions of the table.

Former Golden Lions lock Jakobus Andries Grobler got the only try of the first half as the home side went in 8-3 ahead, with winger Thomas Combezou and scrum-half Benjamin Ferrou both crossing in the second period to secure the bonus that kept them on the verge of the play-off berths in sixth spot.

Aurillac climbed to eighth position as they rallied from 11-0 down at Tarbes to grab a dramatic last-ditch win thanks to Albert Valentin's 80th-minute try and Rory Teague's conversion.

The afternoon began well enough for Tarbes with winger Marno Meyer opening the scoring with an 11th-minute try, and they were 11-0 up at the interval after Richard Apanui added two penalties.

English fly-half Teague finally got Aurillac on the board with his 46th-minute penalty kick, but Tarbes were still leading 11-3 with just six minutes left when full-back Mickaël Etcheverria was crucially yellow-carded.

Teague slotted the ensuing penalty, paving the way for Valentin's last-minute heroics as Aurillac recorded their first away win of the season.

Elsewhere, Mont-de-Marsan beat Dax 16-5 in the clash between the two sides relegated from Top 14 last season.

Dax number eight Jannie Bornman put the Thomas Lièvremont's side 5-0 up with his seventh-minute try, but that proved to be the visitors' only score of the afternoon as 'Les Montois' gradually took control of the match.

A trio of Thibault Duvallet penalties put the home side 9-5 by half-time, and the former Biarritz fly-half went on to add a 54th-minute try - which he converted himself - as Mont-de-Marsan opened up a decisive 11-point advantage.

There was still time for Régis Rameau to pick up a late yellow card for Dax, adding to that of Yves Pedrosa in the first half as the visitors slumped to their third successive league defeat.

© Copyright FrenchRugbyClub.com. All rights reserved.