Top 14 - Bayonne pay the penalty for late misses as Castres hang on for vital draw

02 January 2009

Bayonne 13 (7) Castres 13 (13)

A brace of late penalty misses cost Bayonne dearly as they were held 13-13 at home to lowly Castres.

Replacement fly-half Manny Edmonds was the culprit, spurning two long-distance efforts in the closing 11 minutes, but at least Bayonne held on to their unbeaten home record - a situation that looked doubtful as they headed for the half-time break 7-13 down.

But a spirited second-half performance at least saw them draw level after the entire front row was replaced four minutes after the restart.

Edmonds - who came on earlier for the injured Daniel Larrachea - initiated the fight back with his 53rd-minute penalty, and centre Craig Gower ensured parity when he landed a drop-goal four minutes later.

At that point the force was very much with the home side, but Castres dug deep to hold on for a draw that could prove crucial in their ongoing fight against relegation.

The Top 14 strugglers will rightly take comfort from their performance, especially in the first-half when their constant pressure forced Bayonne into a series of mistakes and handling errors.

Fly-half Anthony Lagadere gave an indication of the fight ahead when he slotted a fifth-minute penalty to give the visitors an early lead after Larrachea had already missed for the hosts.

The Bayonne fly-half had a (brief) evening to forget, and was off the field with a head wound when his side hit back courtesy of a close-in try from Australian prop Rodney Blake.

Edmonds duly converted to make it 7-3 to Bayonne, but Lagadere landed his second successful kick shortly after to reduce the arrears to one point.

A heavily bandaged Larrachea then re-entered the fray but was again off-target with his kicking as he spurned further penalty opportunities in the 21st and 22nd minutes, before capping a miserable evening by being substituted for Edmonds.

Castres' Phil Christophers also went off at the same time - the 26th minute - after injuring a knee while attempting a score, but the visitors appeared less perturbed by the change as centre Lionel Mazars cleverly intercepted before running clear to score unopposed.

Lagadere added the extras to leave it 13-7 to Castres at half-time, although it could have been even better had Thomas Bouque not failed with a long-range effort in the dying minutes.

Tough words were clearly expressed during the interval and Bayonne emerged determined to make amends for their uncharacteristic first-half showing.

The arrival of Denis Avril, David Roumieu and Aretz Iguinitz shored up their previously battered front row and the points began to be clawed back with their increased pressure. But Castres refused to buckle and weathered the initial storm to hang on for the draw, leaving Bayonne to rue squandering five penalty kicks in all, and the chance to maintain their 100% home win record.

Castres would probably have settled for a losing bonus point before the match began, but walked away with the draw instead as they (temporarily at least) clambered out of the relegation zone.

It could be the performance that finally kick starts their Top 14 survival campaign. They will certainly be hoping so. Bayonne, meanwhile, are now without a win in five games - including two in the European Challenge Cup - and are in danger of letting their impressive early season work go to waste.

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