What an activity! The La Rochelle hooker played 78 minutes in this match without ever dropping his intensity. La Rochelle was able to rely on its reliability in terms of throws into touch to put the emphasis on a sector where Ronan O’Gara’s men were very dominant. He also led his forward pack to perfection on the mauls to twice be at the conclusion of the Rochelais’ very efficient penetrating groups. Clean in defense, he was not stingy with his efforts, like his defensive retreat at the feet of Pablo Uberti at the end of the match (74th). A full match for him and a stunning 25-21 victory for his team.
The center of the French team was missing from this La Rochelle team. After making his return last week against Aviron Bayonnais, he gained momentum this evening. In addition to these usual big charges in the center of the field, Jonathan Danty was decisive on the defensive level. With a 100% tackle, he won all his duels and saved his own by making a decisive return on Tevita Tatafu just in front of the La Rochelle goal line (12th). The boss of the La Rochelle back line in the company of the very good Brice Dulin.
The UBB may harbor regrets about the first release of these galactics. Yannick Bru’s players responded to the basics for more than an hour until these X factors shine. New Bordeaux player Damian Penaud was decisive in his team’s two attempts. First by creating the gap for Depoortère on the first try (46th) before showing himself to receive a play at the foot of the other X factor, Mathieu Jalibert, to register his first try in the Bordeaux jersey. The Bordeaux opener also distinguished himself by launching several offensives and alternating when necessary with a good kicking game. Despite the defeat, the promises for the future are there.
FLOPS
Bordeaux-Bègles had the match in hand. Just after Damian Penaud’s try, UBB was 13 points ahead of Rochelais (8-21) and mastered its subject. But the changes have changed everything. Solid for an hour, the UBB scrum was punished throughout the end of the match, notably due to Jefferson Poirot and Carlu Sadie in difficulty. Guido Petti, who made his return this Sunday, was also guilty of a fault in a ruck (71st) while Clément Maynadier was too feverish on his throws into touch like the last ammunition of the match (80′). As against Toulouse three weeks ago, UBB held on to victory but let it slip away.
Antoine Hastoy and Tawera Kerr-Barlow must have understood it when they left (55th): they missed their match. The French international fly-half had little impact on his team’s offensive drive, missing a penalty and a conversion. Unlike his young teammate Hugo Reus, once again very interesting and decisive at the end of the match. For his part, the experienced New Zealander missed his camp outings and failed to dictate the rhythm to his team with a very disjointed game in the first period. A performance which contrasts with the decisive entry of Teddy Iribaren, author of the counter on Lucu leading to Seuteuni’s try (55′).