ProD2, r18: SU Agen lose again as Oyonnax trim their lead back down to just two points

26 January 2010

SU Agen's one-time 10-point lead has now been trimmed to just two as the pre-season promotion favourites lost their second successive league match - and their third in five games - as they went down 19-17 at Aurillac on Sunday.

The home side led 6-0 at half-time thanks to a brace of penalties from fly-half Jérémy Bourlon, and they eased further ahead soon after the restart thanks his third success at goal. But Agen then hit back in style, running in two tries in five minutes as Saïmoni Vaka and Rupeni Caucaunibuca both touched down for the visitors - for their fourth and seventh tries of the season respectively.

Fly-half François Gelez added both conversions, to leave Agen 14-9 to the good with half an hour left to play.

Agen temporarily went down to 14 men when lock Lisiate Fa'aoso was sin-binned in the 57th minute, but they still managed to extend their lead soon after when Gelez landed 64th-minute penalty to put them 17-9 up. They could not, however, hold out when flanker Adri Badenhorst became their second player to see yellow (in the 66th minute), with Aurillac rallying to score 10 points in five minute to nip 19-17 ahead.

Bourlon cut the gap initially with his fourth successful penalty, before South African hooker Erasmus van Vuuren touched down for a decisive try. That left the scored tied at 17-17, but Bourlon was son target again with the conversion to seal an excellent home win for Aurillac which lifted them from 10th to 9th.

Agen, on the other hand, now have to go back to December 19th for their last league win and are being hunted down by a chasing pack led by Oyonnax - last year's losing play-off finalists - after the latter won 29-10 at home to Dax.

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The combined boots of Rudi Vogt (one pen) and Sylver Tian (three pens) put them 0-9 up at half-time despite Dax scoring the only try of the opening period, through centre Laurent Marticorena in the 23rd minute.

Tian went on to extend that advantage further with another penalty three minutes after the restart, before centre Vogt touched down for an Oyonnax seven minutes later. Tian added the extras to give the home side a 12-point lead.

A second try seven minutes later ensured there would be no coming back for Dax, with second row Damien Fèvre going over this time, with Bourlon again kicking the conversion. To compound Dax's misery they ended the match with 14 players after winger Neumi Nanuku was sin-binned two minutes from time.

The result lifted Oyonnax up to within striking distance of Agen, with their away clash with the ProD2 on February 27th assuming more importance with each passing week.

Not that Oyonnax are the only team pushing for that sole automatic promotion berth, although third-placed Grenoble will be disappointed to have picked up just two points following their 10-10 away draw at lowly Colomiers.

The visitors started well enough with full-back Damien Vidal putting them ahead with a 17th-minute drop-goal, but they found themselves 7-3 at the interval after flanker Romain Friand touched down for Colomiers right on the stroke of half-time, with Frédéric Pujo's converting.

It remained like that until 13 minutes from time, when replacement full-back Pierre-Alexandre Dut scored for Grenoble just two minutes after entering the game, Fly-half Danie de Beer added the extras to put the visitors 10-7 ahead, but Pujo's 70th-minute penalty levelled the scores and ensured both teams emerged with two points apiece.

That was enough to lift Grenoble above RC Narbonne and into third spot - six points behind leaders Agen - while for Colomiers it earned them further breathing space above the drop zone as they edged six points clear of 14th-placed Aix-en-Provence.

RC Narbonne had started the weekend in third place but slipped after losing 21-12 away to Union Bordeaux-Bègles.

The visitors actually led 9-8 at half-time after Christopher Ruiz's three penalties had helped cancel out Maxime Machenaud's 23rd-minute try (and three points from Henri-Pierre Vermis), and it remained nip and tuck until the end. Vermis added a second penalty on 47 minutes as Bordeaux reclaimed the lead, and his third successful kick made it 14-9 with 10 minutes left to play.

But Narbonne full-back Léo Griffoul subsequently knocked over a 75th-minute effort in reply to narrow the gap back down to two points before former Golden Lions fly-half Jaco Van Schalkwyk touched down three minutes from time to seal the Bordeaux win.

Bordeaux remain eighth despite the win, but are now just six points off the play-off zone as they continue to dream of promotion.

La Rochelle currently occupy the last of the four play-off places after their 37-3 bonus-point home win against relegation-threatened Aix-en-Provence saw them climb above Lyon OU into fifth spot.

Provence briefly led following Antoine Lescalmel's third-minute penalty, but that was as good as it got for the visitors as La Rochelle gradually assumed control. Winger Florian Ninard calmed home supporters with a seventh-minute try and Benjamin Dambielle then kicked the conversion and three penalties to leave it 16-3 at half-time.

A penalty-try six minutes after the resumption lifted the home side further clear, with replacement Thomas Combezou adding their third try on 51 minutes - with both again converted by Dambielle. It then remained 30-3 until 10 minutes from the end, when Ninard crashed over for his second score of the afternoon, leaving Dambielle to add the extras once more and finish with a personal match haul of 17 points.

The bonus-point win was enough to lift La Rochelle above Lyon OU, with the latter being held to a 22-22 home draw -their sixth tie of the season - against seventh-placed Pau.

The visitors were thankful to a last-minute penalty from Andre Hough for a share of the points, with the Pau fly-half earning his team a valuable away draw against one of their play-off rivals. It capped a see-saw match which had both sides in the lead at various points.

First ahead were Lyon, with full-back Romain Loursac kicking an eighth-minute penalty to fire the home side in front, but Pau replied through Hough before prop Peni Fakalelu was sin-binned in the 15th minute.

Lyon took advantage of their numerical superiority to edge ahead again through another Loursac penalty but Pau, despite being down to 14 men, then scored the game's opening try when winger Grégory Puyo touched down halfway through the first period.

Hough's conversion made it 10-6 to the visitors , but Lyon responded with a try of their own four minutes later through number eight Alexandru Manta. Loursac added the extras and a subsequent penalty to leave the hosts 16-10 up, but Hough slotted a drop-goal just before the interval to cut the deficit to three points after an entertaining first half.

A 43rd-minute penalty from the Pau fly-half then brought the scores level, and it remained like that until a late tit-for-tat kicking frenzy saw the match end 22-22. First, Xavier Sadourny landed a 66th-minute drop-goal for the hosts - with Hough replying via a 70th-minute penalty - and then Loursac looked to have won it for Lyon with his 77th-minute penalty, only for Hough to respond in kind in the game's final minute.

The result saw Lyon slip outside the play-off zone to sixth position, although they remain one point ahead of seventh-placed Pau. It also maintained the latter's now five-match unbeaten run.

13th-placed Mont-de-Marsan eased themselves 13 points clear of the relegation zone thanks to their 18-12 home win against Tarbes.

The hosts opened up a 12-0 lead after 34 minutes thanks to four successful penalties from Thibault Duvallet, but Tarbes did at least manage to get on the board before the break with Krist Kopetsky kicking one in reply right on the stroke of half time.

He added a second eight minutes after the restart, but Tarbes were then temporarily reduce to 14 men after lock Cilliers Coetzer was sin-binned on 52 minutes. 'Les Montois' extended their lead through Duvallet's fifth penalty less then two minutes later, and it remained like that until Richard Apanui kicked a penalty for Tarbes with 15 minutes left.

Duvallet sixth success - three minutes from time - looked to have dashed Tarbes' hopes of a defensive point, but Apanui was on target again in the dying seconds as the visitors ensured they didn't depart empty handed despite their seventh defeat in nine league games.

Finally, basement club Lannemezan earned only their 10th point of a torrid season as they went down 10-17 at home to local rivals FC Auch Gers. Their latest defeat was their 16th in 17 league games this campaign, but the home side will be cheered by the way they fought back from 0-17 down after 51 minutes.

Four Benjamin Feilles penalties fired Auch 12-0 up after 17 minutes, and then surged further ahead when replacement number eight Hugo Rongieras then crashed over 10 minutes into the second half. But Lannemezan centre Nicolas Mouret touched down for the hosts just after the hour mark - with Thomas Pochelu converting - and Jean-Marie Heraut's late penalty was enough to secure the defensive bonus.

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