ProD2 round 19: Racing extend their lead as rivals stumble; Bourg pull off shock victory

09 February 2009

Leaders Racing Metro ’92 may have missed out on a winning bonus point but that was just about the only thing that didn’t go their way on another excellent weekend for the Paris club.

Their 36-15 victory at Aurillac on Sunday afternoon was competent enough, with the table toppers running in four tries, but it was the results below them that would have brought just as much satisfaction as the teams in second, third and fourth all slipped up.

First-half scores from Kiwi flanker Johnny Leo’o and Australian scrum-half Nic Berry set them on the way, together with three penalties from All Black veteran Andrew Mehrtens, while 33-year-old Fijian wing Sireli Bobo and young French centre Henry Chavancy added a further brace of tries after the interval.

Aurillac briefly threatened to make a game of it when Graydon Staniforth and Malkhas Urjukashvili went over in a five-minute purple patch early in the second half, but the hosts failed to push on and have now lost seven on the trot as their descent down the table continues.

This latest reverse leaves them 10^th and having to go back to November for their last league win.

Conversely, Racing have lost only four times all season and now find themselves sitting pretty with a six point margin (and a game in hand) at the top after SCA Albi, their nearest rivals, fell to a narrow 10-9 away defeat at RC Narbonne in an ill-tempered match that saw four red cards and five yellows.

Prop Arnaud Martinez’s fifth-minute try got the Narbonne off to the perfect start, with Christopher Ruiz adding the conversion, and the home side were 7-6 ahead at the interval despite a brace of penalties from Blair Stewart.

Ruiz and Stewart added a further penalty apiece in the second-half but Narbonne held out for their first win in five, while Albi were forced to settle for the defensive bonus point.

The sendings off all occurred in the second half with Narbonne front row forwards Georges Kutarashvili and Joachim Algisi both seeing red, together with Albi's Laurent Baluc-Rittener and Martin Gady.

                                                         Pro D2 table

Third-placed La Rochelle lost vital ground as they slumped to their first home defeat of the season, a surprise 13-16 reverse against Union Bordeaux-Begles.

The score was 3-3 at half-time thanks to a penalty each from Sebastien Boboul (La Rochelle) and Raphael Lagarde (Union), but the hosts seized the initiative with a 10-point blast within minutes of the restart.

First, Boboul slotted a 43^rd-minute penalty and then full-back Florian Ninard went over for the game’s opening try six minutes later, with Boboul securing the extras.

It was still 13-3 to La Rochelle with just quarter of an hour to go, but Union’s fight-back began with Thibault Duvallet’s 65^th-minute penalty.

Five minutes later and the scores were level thanks to Julien Gaulthier’s try and two more points from Duvallet, and the match appeared to be heading for a tie until Lagarde sealed Union’s victory with a dramatic last-minute drop-goal.

The result left La Rochelle nine points behind leaders Racing, and having played a game more.

Oyonnax also lost ground as they lost 9-6 away to Lyon OU. All the points came in the first half, with Lyon’s Jeandre Fourie kicking three penalties to Sylver Tian’s two as the hosts secured their first in four.

Oyonnax – who had won their previous five matches - remain a point behind third-placed La Rochelle, but their defeat allowed the division’s highest scorers SU Agen to climb back up to fourth following their 45-23 home win against in-form Tarbes.

The home side outscored their visitors by six tries to one, with three in each half as they picked up maximum points.

Yoann Huget set the scoreboard ticking with his third-minute try, and the stunned visitors were 14-0 down when Tongan Fonua Opeti added their second just four minutes later. Both were converted by Romain Sola.

Paul Dabrin’s 15^th minute response from Tarbes hinted at a recovery, especially when Rory Teague added the first of his five penalties to further reduce the deficit to six, but Sylvain Dupuy scored Agen’s third try six minutes before the interval.

The 26-year-old scrum-half went on to add his second and third as Agen continued to dominate after the break, with Saimoni Vaka completing the scoring three minutes from time.

First-half tries from winger Malaki Bakaniceva and centre Julien Rey set Colomiers on their way to an 18-13 home win against Pau.

The hosts were 12-3 up at half-time - with Pau’s only points coming from an Andre Hough drop-goal - and they maintained control after the break thanks to a brace of Frederic Pujo penalties.

Hough did manage to land one in response but the visitors looked destined to go away empty handed until the South African’s last minute try and conversion at least gained them a defensive point as they continue to push for a play-off slot.

For Colomiers, however, the result maintained a recent revival which has now seen them lose just once in their last five league matches as they pull away from the drop zone.

Basement club Bourg-en-Bresse pulled off one of the results of the weekend with a stunning 36-0 demolition of FC Auch Gers.

The win was Bourg’s first since beating Beziers 9-3 on November 16, and only their third all season.

As well as being a collective triumph for Bourg the match was also a personal highlight for Australian centre Clint Eadie, who ran in a hat-trick of tries, including two in a rampaging first-half which saw the hosts race 19-0 ahead.

The 25-year-old completed his trio within sixty seconds of the restart, and later added a conversion for good measure as he notched up a match haul of 17 points.

Centre Arnaud Perret and prop Fabien Magnan were the other try-scorers as the hosts made sure of their first attacking bonus point all season. Nicolas Manguelin added three conversions and a penalty to complete the unlikely romp.

They still remain six points adrift of second-bottom Beziers, however, despite the latter’s 12-8 defeat at Grenoble.

Beziers’ Thomas Pochelu scored the game’s only try to give them an early 5-0 lead, but the combined boots of Pierre-Alexandre Dut and Danie de Beer hauled the hosts back into control as they each slotted a pair of penalties to help secure the win that lifted them up to eighth spot.

© Copyright FrenchRugbyClub.com. All rights reserved.