ProD2 round 12 review:
Top three
lose as Racing Metro '92 reclaim top spot
07 December 2008
|
Oyonnax 12
|
Tarbes
6 |
|
SCA Albi 16 |
Pau 13 |
|
Union 33 |
Colomiers 12 |
|
Beziers 25 |
Aurillac 16 |
|
Grenoble 12 |
Bourg-en-Bresse 12 |
|
Lyon OR 12
|
SU Agen 13 |
|
RC Narbonne 33 |
La
Rochelle 16 |
|
FC Auch Gers 22 |
Racing
Metro 18 |
Racing Metro ’92 reclaimed the Pro D2 lead on Sunday
as the top three sides all lost in the latest round
of league matches.
The ambitious Paris club
snuck back into pole position courtesy of their losing bonus
point at FC Auch Gers, something that proved beyond the
pre-weekend leaders Aurillac as they tumbled at
relegation-threatened Beziers.
Beziers’
surprise 25-16 win was undoubtedly the shock result of the
weekend as they registered only their third success of a
disappointing campaign.
The home side were
already six points to the good – courtesy of two Thomas
Pochelu penalties – when Jonathan Bousquet went over for an
11th-minute try.
Pochelu kicked the
extras to leave the stunned visitors 13-0 down, and the
fly-half added two more penalties to ensure the hosts
maintained half-time superiority.
Aurillac’s Kruger
slotted three penalties himself to leave it 19-9 at the
interval, and though Fijian Dan Baleinadogo went over for a
65th-minute try the home side hung on for a
morale-boosting win at the Stade de la Mediterranee.
It was only Aurillac’s
third defeat, and it proved costly as Racing Metro
usurped them as division leaders despite losing 22-18 away
to FC Auch Gers on Sunday afternoon.
Benoit Paillaugue got the home side off the
mark with a 12th-minute penalty but Racing hit
back on a topsy-turvy afternoon with Fijian Sireli Bobo
going over for the game’s opening try 10 minutes later.
Frederic Couzier replied
for Auch shortly after the half hour, with Paillaugue adding
the conversion, only for Racing’s Mani Vakaola to touch down
three minutes before the interval to leave the hosts 13-12
ahead.
Fly-half Andrew Mehrtens
then landed a brace of penalties as the Paris side edged
into an 18-16 lead after 56 minutes, before Paillaugue and
Couzier kicked a penalty apiece as Auch held on for the win.
RC Narbonne
ran in three tries as they overwhelmed third-placed La
Rochelle 33-16 at the Stade Marcel Deflandre.
The visitors started
well enough and were 6-0 up after 17 minutes before Baptiste
Sanchez touched down to get Narbonne on their way.
Christopher Ruiz then added the conversion and two
first-half penalties to give the hosts a 13-9 interval lead.
Two tries in the space
of three minutes then killed off the match as a contest with
prop George Kutarashvili and Ruiz going over in quick
succession to secure the win.
Ruiz added both
conversions and a penalty to take his own tally to 23
points, before Franck Jacob got a late consolation for La
Rochelle.
SCA Albi
withstood a late rally from Pau to beat their
promotion rivals 16-13, with Kiwi John Stewart kicking 11 of
their points.
The home side led 9-3 at
half-time thanks to a hat-trick of penalties, and went
further clear shortly after the interval when Kevin Boulogne
went over for their only try.
Stewart’s conversion
made it 16-6, but Pau’s Clement Darbo scored with nine
minutes left to set up a nervy finale.
Controversial winger
Rupeni Caucaunibuca scored on his Agen comeback as
the visitors beat Lyon 13-12 to climb up to fifth
position.
The Fijian touched down
in the dying seconds of the first half as Agen moved in to a
10-3 lead.
Francois Gelez added the
conversion and a subsequent penalty early in the second
half, before Lyon’s Jeandre Fourie kicked three penalties in
10 minutes to set up a grandstand finish.
Pierre-Yves Montagnat
slotted four penalties as Oyonnax beat Tarbes
12-6 at the Stade Charles Mathon.
The versatile
winger/full-back took his overall points haul to 163 – by
far the highest in the division – as the home side completed
their sixth win of the season.
Two penalties from
Richard Apanui kept Tarbes in the hunt – they even led 6-3
early in the second half – but Montagnat’s boot ensured the
win.
Fly-half Thibault
Duvallet kicked 23 points as Union Bordeaux-Begles
made it back-to-back wins with a 33-12 home victory against
Colomiers.
The hosts were leading
21-9 thanks to Duvallet’s boot before a couple of late tries
– by Pascal Ancelin and Matt Egan – added gloss to the win.
Pujo’s four penalties
accounted for all of Colomiers’ points as the visitors
slipped to their eighth defeat of the season.
Paul Bailey kicked a 79th-minute
penalty to earn basement club Bourg-en-Bresse a
creditable away draw against Grenoble.
The visitors had trailed 12-9 from the 56th
minute after three Morne Loxton penalties and a
Pierre-Alexandre Dut drop-goal, but their persistence paid
off when Bailey’s late kick earned them a valuable two
points.
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