ProD2, r2: Albi, Lyon, Colomiers and Pau win again to maintain 100% starts to the season

07 September 2010

Four teams emerged from Round 2 of the new ProD2 season with their 100% win records still intact after the weekend, with SCA Albi the early leaders courtesy of their first round bonus point. The other three teams who recorded their second successive victories were Pau, Lyon OU and - perhaps more surprisingly - Colomiers.

Albi, who were relegated from Top 14 last season, followed up on last weekend's 45-19 home win against Saint-Etienne with an impressive 13-28 away win at Dax on Sunday.

The home side started well enough with lock Mikaera Tewhata going over for the game's opening try after just eight minutes, with fly-half Richard Apanui adding the extras. It remained like that until shortly before the half hour when Dax flanker Cédric Beal was yellow-carded. Moments later Albi winger Geoffrey Palis touched down for the visitors, and the winger then added a penalty on 32 minutes to put edge them 7-8 ahead.

ProD2 League Table 2010/11

Apanui's 36th-minute penalty in response saw Dax go into half time with a 10-8 advantage, but Albi's replacement fly-half Frédéric Manca was also on target just two minutes after entering the fray as the away side responded in positive fashion.

Manca was on target again with a 56th-minute drop-goal, and Albi then added two more tries in the closing 20 minutes as substitute centre Baptiste Hecker and winger Dave Vainqueur both crossed, the latter for his third try in two games. Manca kicked the two conversions to leave the end result a convincing 13-28 victory for the former Top 14 side, while Dax were left to reflect on a hugely disappointing start to their new campaign after successive defeats. They are now one of just two teams left without a point so far, with the others being newly promoted Saint-Etienne following their 7-47 home humbling by Oyonnax.

Last season's play-off semi-finalists ran in six tries as they responded positively to last weekend's defeat at Pau, with flanker Fabien Laurent and number eight Ikapoté Fono both touching down in the first half.

Full-back Jonathan Bousquet added both conversions as well as a penalty and drop-goal as Oyonnax went into the break 7-23 ahead, with the hosts' response coming via a try from scrum-half Fabio da Silva Lopes and a conversion from veteran international Alexandre Péclier.

Bousquet went on to enjoy a profitable second half as well, beginning with the full-back going over for his own try on 45 minutes before converting subsequent scores by scrum-half Arnaud Pic and replacement Roimata Hansell-Pune. Centre Jean-Emmanuel Cassin also got in on the act with a 72nd-minute try as Oyonnax had a fruitful afternoon in Saint-Etienne.

The home side, meanwhile, are finding life tough following their promotion from Fédérale 1 and are now rooted to the foot of the table after conceding 92 points in their first two games.

Colomiers continued their impressive start to the new campaign as they followed up last weekend's away win at Bordeaux with a 16-12 home victory against Mont-de-Marsan.

Hooker Sébastien Bortolucci scored the game's only try when he went over for the home side six minutes before the break, with full-back Frédéric Couzier adding the conversion to two earlier penalties as Colomiers opened up a 13-6 half-time lead.

The combined boots of Benat Arrayet and his replacement Maxime Bats kept the visitors brought the visitors to within a point after 54 minutes, and it remained like that until two minutes from time. At that stage centre Julien Cabannes picked up a yellow card, with Hugo Hernandez then kicking the resultant penalty to seal Colomiers' second successive win.

ProD2 Leading Try and Point Scorers 2010/11

Pau also made it back-to-back victories as they held off local rivals FC Auch Gers to win 22-16 at home on Saturday.

The hosts found themselves 0-6 down after just eight minutes after two successful penalties from Auch fly-half Pierre-Alexandre Dut, but Fijian winger Akuila Nawerecagi then touched down to settle the home team. Sébastien Descons missed the conversion, but he was on target with penalties in the 22nd and 45th minutes as Pau edged 11-9 ahead.

Last year's losing semi-finalists then scored their second try of the afternoon when winger Grégory Puyo touched down in the 46th minute, only for Auch replacement number eight Mathieu de Pauw to reply in kind just after the hour mark. Dut's conversion left it all square at 16-16 but Pau's fired up forwards did enough to earn two later penalties which Clément Darbo coolly kicked over to seal the 22-16 victory.

Lyon OU are the fourth of the team's still boasting a 100% win record, but they needed a 70th-minute penalty from Pierre-Yves Montagnat - his seventh of the afternoon - to finally see of a doggedly determined Carcassonne side.

Indeed, last season's losing play-off finalists were 13-3 down after 20 minutes as impressive Carcassonne picked up where they left off in recording last weekend's excellent away win at FC Auch Gers.

Former Montauban fly-half Cédric Rosalen kicked eight of those early points - via two penalties and a conversion - while centre Félix Le Bourhis grabbed his second try in as many games as the home team pulled clear.

Montagnat (2) and Rosalen (1) then kicked further penalties before the break to leave Carcassonne 16-9 up at the break, before the former added three more successes in the opening 15 minutes of the second half as Lyon rallied to squeak 16-18 ahead.

Rosalen's fourth success of the afternoon saw Carcassonne reclaim the lead 15 minutes from time in a fluctuating match, before Montagnat had the final word with his match-winning seventh penalty.    

Tarbes got their first win of the season with a 25-19 home victory against FC Grenoble at the weekend.

The home side were 15-6 ahead at half-time thanks to five successful penalty kicks from fly-half Fabien Fortassin - against two from Grenoble's Blair Stewart - but visitors fought back after the interval and even claimed the lead on 61 minutes when Franck Maréchal touched down. Blair kicked the conversion to add to a 50th-minute penalty, but Tarbes responded almost immediately thanks to a try from scrum-half Thierry Lacrampe. Anthony Bourgeois kicked the conversion and a subsequent penalty to make it 25-16 to the Pyrenees side, but Rory Teague's late penalty at least earned Grenoble a defensive bonus despite the away side being down to 14 men at that stage following Wylie Human's sin-binning.

Union Bordeaux-Bègles bounced back from last weekend's home defeat by Colomiers to win 22-15 against Aurillac on Saturday, with fly-half Gerard Fraser contributing exactly half of their points.

Fraser and Maxime Petitjean traded three penalties apiece as the two sides closed the opening period level-pegging at 9-9, with Aurillac probably the more contented after also having two players sent to the sin-bin. Centre Dan Baleinadogo was yellow-carded on 19 minutes, while fellow centre Arno Coetzee was dispatched on 33, along with Bordeaux prop Silviu Florea.

But the game's decisive moment came one minute after the restart when home winger Vungakoto Lilo touched down for the only try of a tense match, with Fraser's conversion helping Bordeaux open up a seven-point lead.

Fraser's replacement Camille Lopez then stretched that advantage further with a 58th-minute penalty just 60 seconds after coming on, and he added a second shortly before the final whistle to ensure the win, although Petitjean's fifth penalty success - two minutes from time - did at least earn Aurillac a defensive point.

Aix-en-Provence registered their maiden league win of the season with an 18-11 home win against RC Narbonne, with full-back Antoine Lescalmel's contributing 15 points via five successful penalties.

The Provence No 15 struck three times in the opening 21 minutes - along with an additional penalty from Danie de Beer - as the home side moved 12-3 ahead, but Narbonne rallied with a Jone Tawake try and two Christopher Ruiz penalties as they fought back to go in 12-11 down at half time.

Provence's nerves were further frayed when flanker Gwendal Ollivier was yellow-carded on 51 minutes - his second in two games - but two subsequent Lescalmel penalties proved sufficient to see off the visitors for a well-merited victory.

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