ProD2: Lucky 13 for Lannemezan after first league win; leaders SU Agen fall to Narbonne

07 December 2009

Fédérale 1 champions Lannemezan finally registered their first ProD2 win on Saturday - at the 13th attempt - as they beat fierce local rivals Tarbes. Not only that, their maiden league win came on the road as they inflicted a 12-13 (that number again!) defeat on their Pyrenean neighbours.

It was a triumph of persistence for Lannemezan in the first Armagnac de Bigorre derby for 22 years, and also offers a glimmer of hope that survival may yet be achievable.

The visitors were 9-6 down at half-time as Richard Apanui outkicked Thomas Pochelu by three penalties to two, and it looked like being another valiant defeat when Apanui added a fourth success to make it 12-6 in the 68th minute.

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So often this season it has been Lannemezan who have been pipped in the final 10 minutes of matches, but this time they turned the tables on their neighbours after Czech replacement prop Pavel Stastny went over in the 71st minute for the game's only try. It still required Pochelu's conversion to give them the lead - which he duly kicked - and there were some understandably anxious moments in the frantic closing stages, but Lannemezan held on for a famous win that could just kick-start their survival campaign.

The only frustration for Lannemezan was then learning that fellow strugglers Aix-en-Provence - who were also promoted last season - had won as well, beating Pau 21-16 to stay nine points clear of their relegation rivals.

Provence's win was only their third of the season, and stopped a run of five successive defeats as they weathered a late fightback after surging into an 18-3 lead.

It was a typically tense affair in the opening 40 minutes with the hosts edging into a 6-3 interval lead courtesy of two Antonie Lescalmel penalties. The turning point came eight minutes after the restart when Pau's Philippe Guicherd was yellow-carded, paving the way for Provence winger Eddy Labarthe to score two quick-fire tries as the home side pulled clear.

But just when it seemed that an unlikely attacking bonus could be on the cards the visitors came piling back, with Karim Koulder going over in the 65th minute. Clément Darbo's conversion made it 18-10, and a penalty seven minutes later further closed the gap to just five points.

Lescalmel's third penalty success eased home nerves four minutes from time, and even though Darbo added another penalty in the final minute it could not dilute Provence's joy. It did, however, hand Pau a defensive bonus as they fell to their sixth league defeat.

At the other end of the table leaders SU Agen fell to their first defeat in six matches as they went down 22-16 at RC Narbonne on Sunday afternoon.

Most of the scoring was done in an action-packed first half, with the hosts rushing into a 10-0 lead following Christopher Ruiz's sixth-minute drop-goal and a Louis Madaule's try just two minutes later.

But Agen replied with panache and were back on level terms within 10 minutes thanks to tries - both unconverted - from Fijian wing Rupeni Caucaunibuca and flanker Adri Badenhorst.

That try double could have knocked the stuffing out of some teams, but Narbonne remained calm and edged into a 19-10 half-time lead as Ruiz slotted two penalties and another drop-goal.

Agen tried to lift themselves again after the interval but had to wait until the 70th minute to add to their own score, with Scott Daruda knocking over a penalty. Ruiz and Daruda then added one more penalty apiece in the dying minutes to leave the hosts 22-16 winners, while Agen had to settle for a lone defensive bonus.

That slip up enabled second-placed Oyonnax to close the gap on Agen to five points following their 25-18 home win against FC Auch Gers.

Full-back Sylver Tian did all their scoring in the first half as the home side moved 12-3 clear on the back of his four successful penalty kicks, and the hosts broke further clear after the interval following a 44th-minute yellow card for Auch hooker Sébastien Bruère.

Oyonnax capitalised on their numerical advantage to score their only try of the game just three minutes later as Tongan number eight Nisifolo Naufahu piled over. Tian added the extras to leave Auch 19-3 adrift, but the visitors fought back valiantly with two tries in seven minutes as they threatened to pull off a shock win.

Flanker Hugo Rongieras was first over, in the 61st minute, with prop Yannick Delom following shortly after as the cut the deficit to just four points with 12 minutes left to play.

Tian and Vincent Cortes then kicked a penalty each, with Tian adding his sixth success of the afternoon just three minutes from time to seal the 25-18 win. Auch will take some comfort from the fact they emerged with a defensive bonus, but this was still their seventh defeat in eight games as they continue to slide down the table.

Third-placed Lyon OU maintained their upward momentum with a 22-10 home win against Aurillac on Friday night, with former Gloucester and London Irish winger James Bailey notching his fourth try in his debut season for the hosts.

Bailey's late score capped a good afternoon for Lyon, and it also denied Aurillac a defensive bonus after they had fought back to 15-10 courtesy of a 69th-minute penalty try and five points from the boot of Jérémy Bourlon.

Lyon's earlier dominance enabled ProD2 top-scorer Pierre-Yves Montagnat to kick four first-half penalties as they moved 12-3 clear at the interval.

Their latest win extended Lyon's current unbeaten run to eight matches - including three away draws - although they are bound to be tested by next weekend's home clash with leaders Agen.

Fifth-placed La Rochelle were the only side to secure an attacking bonus in round 13 following their 27-13 home win against Union Bordeaux-Bègles.

That seemed an unlikely scenario after former Bristol and Tongan winger Vungakoto Lilo touched down for the visitors in the fifth minute, but the hosts were soon back on terms as forward pressure earned them a penalty try - converted by Romani Lacoste - soon after.

Former Brive winger Norman Ligairi then went over to put them ahead on 19 minutes, with Lacoste and Henri-Pierre Vermis trading penalties before the interval to leave the home side 15-10 at half time.

La Rochelle's superiority brought two more tries in the second half, with Thomas Combezou going over after 51 minutes and Ligairi doubling up eight minutes from time. The latter was subsequently yellow-carded four minutes later, but Aurillac had already secured their five points by then as they climbed above Grenoble into the final play-off berth.

Grenoble slipped back after going down 15-8 at Dax, for whom Maxime Petitjean scored all their points via five successful penalty kicks. Grenoble hooker Thomas Bianchin did score the game's only try - earning a defensive bonus in the process - but Petitjean's boot ensured a second successive win for the hosts as they climbed up to ninth in the league.

The other weekend game saw Colomiers lose 10-15 at home to Mont-de-Marsan. Frédéric Pujo and Thomas Duvallet exchanged early penalties before Simon Ternisien went over for the visitors on 31 minutes. A spate of yellow cards then ensued with Julien Turini and Jérôme Cholley both being sin-binned for Colomiers, while Sébastien Ormaechea also had a spell on the sidelines for Mont-de-Marsan.

Cholley partially made amends when he scored Colomiers' only try of the afternoon (on 66 minutes), but Mont-de-Marsan were already 15-3 ahead by then thanks to Fijian winger Timoci Matanavu's fourth try of the season.  The Fijian wing added the conversion for good measure to seal the win, while Colomiers had to settle for a defensive bonus that just kept them ahead of 15th-placed Provence on points difference.

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