ProD2: SU Agen, SCA Albi, Oyonnax and La Rochelle in promotion play-offs for Top 14

17 May 2009

SU Agen will play Oyonnax, and La Rochelle will travel to SCA Albi in the ProD2 play-offs, to decide which team joins champions Racing-Métro 92 in going up to Top 14.

The four play-off hopefuls all won their final games, leaving Lyon OU to rue their poor form earlier in the season after their eighth win in nine games left them tantalisingly just one point short of qualifying.

ProD2 Table

La Rochelle began the day in third-place and knew that a win would guarantee their presence in the play-offs, something they achieved with a 19-13 home victory against Tarbes.

The hosts had to fight back from a 6-13 half-time deficit after Marno Meyer's 39th-minute try had helped put Tarbes ahead, but a 52nd-minute penalty try set them on their way, with Rémi Tales adding a late drop-goal to Benjamin Dambielle's trio of penalties and a conversion.

La Rochelle's joy was, however, tinged with regret when news of SCA Albi's result came through, as the team relegated last year from Top 14 managed a bonus-point home win in beating basement club Béziers 24-6.

It proved a crucial victory for Albi, lifting them above La Rochelle into third place, and giving them home advantage over the same opponents in their forthcoming play-off semi-final.

Sébastien Pages and Yohann Misse both went over for Albi before the break, with Pages doubling up ten minutes from time to seal the precious attacking bonus - only their second of the season. Kiwi Blair Stewart kicked all three conversions and a penalty, with already relegated Béziers restricted to just two penalties in response.

Fifth-placed Oyonnax confirmed their play-off spot with a 19-16 away win at RC Narbonne. Pierre-Yves Montagnat - ProD2's leading scorer - contributed 19 points with his boot, adding to a 77th-minute penalty try and an earlier Jérôme Naves effort shortly after the restart.

Delkeith Potts kicked three penalties and a conversion in reply for Narbonne, with their lone try coming from Joachim Algisi after 61 minutes.

Second-placed SU Agen had already secured their play-off berth some weeks ago, but a last-day 32-17 win against promoted champions Racing-Métro 92 will have helped boost already buoyant team confidence.

The division's top scorers ran in four tries as they avenged their 32-28 defeat in Paris back in February, with only a late brace from Racing in the closing six minutes denying them a deserved bonus point.

The hosts were 14 points to the good in even time after early scores from South African lock Adri Badenhorst and Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca, with fly-half Romain Sola adding the extras on both occasions. Caucaunibuca's try was his 12th in 15 games since returning to the club mid-season, leaving him just two short of club colleague and leading ProD2 try-scorer Yoann Huget.

A further Sola penalty put Agen 17-0 up at the interval, a lead they extended again with Sofiane Guitoune's try 15 minutes from the end. Jerome Miquel added the conversion to an earlier penalty as the home side surged 27-3 ahead.

Racing belatedly hit back as the clock ran down, with Italian international Andrea Lo Cicero and Mathieu Lorée scoring in the 74th and 79th minutes respectively, and Jean-Frédéric Dubois landing the conversions to make it a more respectable 27-17. But Agen had last word, with 35-year-old Luc Lafforgue - out of contract after this match - touching down in the final minute to seal the victory.

It was Agen's ninth win in their last 10 games - their 21st of the campaign - and saw them finish seven points ahead of third-placed Albi.  

That all meant that Lyon OU needed a bonus-point win at FC Auch Gers to stand any chance of sneaking into the play-offs, a challenge that proved beyond them despite recording their eighth win in their last nine games.

The visitors needed at least three tries to get the attacking bonus, but failed to cross the line at all throughout the match, depending instead on four Romain Loursac penalties for their 12-10 win.

For Auch it finally brought to an end a trying season, dominated by off-the-field financial worries that are likely to precipitate a wide-scale players' exodus this summer. This was also their sixth successive defeat, although they did at least manage the game's only try when Frédéric Couzier - one of those players tipped to leave - went over in the 57th minute. The fly-half also added the conversion and an earlier penalty to ensure Auch took a third consecutive defensive point, and to lift his own season's tally beyond the 200 mark.

Down at the other end of the table defiant Bourg-en-Bresse thrashed Colomiers 52-27 as they bid farewell to ProD2.

Bourg ran in seven tries - including five in the second half - as they notched their fifth win in their last seven games. Nic Fitsemanu set them off with his third-minute opening score, but the hosts had to wait until just before the interval for their next try when Nigel Staniforth went over to make it 14-6.

Three tries in 14 minutes after the break blew Colomiers away, with Hamza Zouhair, Kenan Mutapcic and George Truelove all getting on the scoresheet.

The visitors gained briefed respite with tries of their own from Anthony Roux and Jerome Cholley, but Fitsemanu had the last word when he scored twice in the closing stages to complete his own hat-trick. Clint Eadie's deadly boot proved superlative throughout as he kicked all seven conversions, and a penalty, to further extend the score.

The win was enough to lift Bourg off ProD2's floor - at Béziers' expense - and narrowed the gap on 14th-placed Colomiers down to just four points.

Elsewhere, in the two remaining mid-table clashes, Grenoble won at Union Bordeaux-Begles 21-19, and Pau tripped up 16-19 at home to Aurillac.

Grenoble edged a fluctuating affair at Union, with both sides registering three tries each, while Pau slumped to their sixth defeat in seven games as their once-promising season ended in more disappointment.  

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