La Rochelle did not avenge the Blues, UBB attacked, Racing traveled empty… The recap of Saturday’s day

The defending champion from La Rochelle lost in Cape Town, against the Stormers (20-21) at the last minute on Saturday.

It’s as if defeats at the wire have become French specialties. After the setbacks of Bayonne and Toulon on Friday on small gaps, Stade Rochelais, double title holder, also fell for a small point in Cape Town, against the Stormers (21-20), Saturday December 16. Lyon, for its part, won by a hair against the Bulls (29-28), while UBB had a clearer success against Bristol (36-17) and Racing stumbled in Ulster ( 31-15).

La Rochelle beaten by one point… obviously

When they arrived in Cape Town, the Rochelais were welcomed in their locker room with videos of the last France-South Africa (29-28), in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Should we see a premonitory outcome? Reda Wardi, Pierre Bourgarit and Jonathan Danty in fact lost by the same margin on the Stormers field (21-20) having been in the lead throughout the game. The Maritimes were even up to 11 points ahead, and thought they had definitely made the hole with a try from Antoine Hastoy (77th). But this was refused on video for an uncontrolled tackle by Joel Sclavi, punished with a yellow card.

One less in front, La Rochelle gave in on a South African ball, before fly-half Mannie Libbok, so criticized for his unreliability against the poles during the World Cup, transformed into the sidelines (80th). A particularly cruel outcome for the Rochelais, already beaten by a short head by Leinster the previous week (16-9) and in a bad position in this ultra-tough Group D.

Bordeaux-Bègles attack

In the middle of a sluggish French contingent, UBB was the only one to hold its place against Bristol (36-17). The international three-quarters once again put on a show, a week after the demonstration in Connacht (41-5). Among them, Maxime Lucu (5th), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (17th) and Damian Penaud (33rd) contributed to this second improved victory, despite an uneven second period.

Already almost assured of qualification, Bordeaux-Bègles has the best attack in the competition, both in terms of points (77) and tries (11) scored. In this register, UBB is narrowly ahead of Saracens, victorious over Connacht after a crazy match (55-36) in the same group. This is good, these two teams with unbridled play will face each other on the next day, January 14 in Chaban-Delmas.

The tide is turning for Lyon

When Jaco van der Walt started, a feeling of déjà vu ran through the Gerland stadium. The specter of a defeat on the wire indeed made the LOU shudder, a week after the setback conceded on a drop after the siren in Bristol (34-36). But the Bulls’ scorer’s attempt was missed, thus validating the Rhone comeback (29-28 after being led 18-7).

In difficulty in the Top 14 (12th), Lyon freed itself offensively with five tries and found on the European scene, despite a rather reshuffled team, virtues that are too rare in the championship. With six points on the clock, Fabien Gegenbacher’s players are in a good position to qualify for the round of 16 for the first time since 2020.

Racing not in the game

Against Ulster, Racing 92 was never able to compete and largely lost (31-15). With most of their executives, the Ile-de-France residents only created an illusion in the middle of the second act, when the score was already sealed in favor of the Northern Irish. Apart from this burst of pride, the Racingmen were beaten in the engagement and lost again, a week after their defeat at the Arena against the Harlequins (28-31).

The double bonus attached to this occasion keeps Racing alive, even though it was unable to bring home a single point, with only three tries scored, including two on carried balls. We will have to score a solid card against Bath then Cardiff to avoid a second successive exit from the group stage.