In the absence of a Six Nations Tournament this weekend, the oval eyes of the French were riveted on the Top 14, Saturday March 5. The leaders lost their heads, since the first four before this day – UBB against Pau, Montpellier in Castres, Racing in Perpignan and Lyon in Clermont – fell. La Rochelle easily disposed of Brive (41-15), when Toulon pushed Biarritz a little further. Highlights of the day.
The match: the LOU muzzled in Clermont
It took until the last five minutes of the match to see Morgan Parra’s teammates gain the upper hand over the Lyonnais who were ultimately too scattered (25-16). At the end of a high-intensity match, especially in the second period, ASM Clermont won against LOU. In the lead at the break, the Yellow and Blue hit the nail on the head with Etienne Fourcade’s try after returning from the locker room.
Then, the teammates of a Pierre-Louis Barassi in legs and author of a test took the hair of the beast to pass in front of the score. But Morgan Parra, on foot first, then Jean-Pascal Barraque by flattening after a mess in the Lyon defense put an end to the hopes of their opponents. Conclusion: Clermont continues its rise in the standings (8th) and continues its third consecutive victory while the LOU misses the opportunity to take the lead in the Top 14 (3rd).
The feat: the Section boasts in Bordeaux
Two weeks after his victory at thirteen against Toulouse, Pau holds a new feat. In Chaban-Delmas, the Béarnais signed a big performance (16-23). Playful as usual, the Section has finally materialized outside. With three tries, the last of which three minutes from the end, the teammates of the excellent Antoine Hastoy stifled the too rough Bordelo-Béglais. With seven points ahead of the red zone, Pau should offer a quiet end to the season.
Quite the opposite of a moribund UBB. This fourth setback in a row, a first under the Urios era, maintains doubt. Bordeaux-Bègles, still the leader, has no margin over its pursuers. Deprived of its internationals and a slew of injured, the Union may have also lost Matthieu Jalibert, injured in the warm-up.
The return: Aymeric Luc with good memories of Aguiléra
When he last came to Biarritz, we left Aymeric Luc in tears. His missed shot on goal sent Aviron Bayonnais to Pro D2, after a daunting barrage (6-6, 6-5 on penalties). From now on Toulonnais, the back called during the last gathering of the Blues took a malicious pleasure in pushing the Biarrots. First author of a try refused on video, Luc did it again – this time with the approval of the referee – before sending Gervais Cordin into the in-goal.
In its wake, Toulon has largely won (17-45), the offensive bonus as a bonus. The RCT gave itself air, unlike Basques on the edge of the precipice with six games remaining. Now twelve points from his opponent of the day, twelfth, and ten from Perpignan, roadblocker, Biarritz has a foot and a half in Pro D2.
The counter-perf ‘: Racing falls back into its Travers
On a series of five rank victories, Racing 92 likes duplicates. But in Catalonia, the Sky and White fell from above (34-13). Faced with a starving Usap, the Hauts-de-Seine club and its hinge of fortune Gibert-Volavola did not weigh. It is, basically, all of Racing which wavered against the relentless defense of Perpignan. Not a cataclysm, but a setback that prevents Laurent Travers’ players from taking advantage of head missteps.
But opposite, you had to see these Blood and Gold crowded together in front of their line, even the past siren, to understand the aggressiveness that inhabited them. With desire and offensive precision, Perpignan obtained a deserved success. These five points allow them to outrun Biarritz and catch up with the Basques of Toulon and Brive.
The figure: 18 penalties conceded by Castres
Is discipline the sinews of war? Rather than leaving you four hours, we will redirect you to the statistics of this Castres-Montpellier. With 18 penalties conceded, the Tarn have displayed a discipline to thrill the slightest coach. But this chronic indiscipline did not prevent the CO from getting rid of the MHR (25-9), enlisting the same offensive bonus. And what does it matter if Castres played a half-time at fourteen, after Botitu’s red.
18 is also the number of consecutive matches without losing at Pierre-Fabre for Castres. The series has been running since December 2020, and allows players of Pierre-Henry Broncan, 4th, to see higher. Conversely, Montpellier deprived of many executives relapsed after ten games without defeat.