The LOU and the RCT clinched their qualification for the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, after their victory at home on Friday and Saturday.
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They are only two French representatives engaged in the Challenge Cup. Lyon and Toulon validated their ticket for the quarter-finals of the competition, after their respective victories against Worcester (31-17), Friday April 15, and Benetton (36-17), Saturday April 16. An appointment that Castres and Biarritz will miss, beaten and eliminated in the eighth.
Against the English, the Lyonnais did not hesitate and scored two tries in the first quarter of an hour to get started and race in the lead. Weighed down by a lack of success on foot (1/3 on conversions), the Worcester players were never able to get back into the game. A try from Pierre-Louis Barassi in the last five minutes sealed an important victory for the Lyonnais, after three defeats in a row in the Top 14.
The Toulonnais had more difficulty getting rid of Benetton on the lawn of Mayol. After a controlled first period, Franck Azéma’s men let the Italians equalize on the hour mark (17-17), before inflicting a 19-0 dry in the last quarter of an hour, thanks in particular to a liberating essay by Jules Coulon two minutes from the siren. “We knew they were a brave team, they have half the Italian team, we knew it was going to be tough […] We didn’t mentally sink to 17-17, we finished at 36-17, that’s what we’re going to remember tonight.”reacted the Toulonnais striker Louis Carbonel at the microphone of France 4 at the end of the meeting.
In the quarter-finals, the RCT will host the London Irish, who defeated Castres (64-27). The Lyonnais will also play their quarter at home, against the Glasgow Warriors. Both matches will be played on the weekend of May 7-8. Lyonnais and Toulonnais will not be able to meet before a potential final, on May 27, at the Vélodrome de Marseille.