Wins for Racing, Bordeaux, Oyonnax, La Rochelle, Clermont

Editor

Racing 92 won the big match of the day, defeating local rivals Stade Francais, while there were also victories for Bordeaux-Bègles, La Rochelle, Oyonnax and Clermont Auvergne.

Racing 92 28-22 Stade Francais
U Arena

Teddy Thomas went over twice as Racing 92 overcame Stade Francais in the Paris derby and move clear in second position.

Stade won the reverse fixture between these two back in December and, despite their perilous league position, they were the better side in the opening period at the U Arena.

A yellow card for Zurabi Zhvania and a score for the hosts’ Boris Palu saw the visitors go 7-0 behind but tries from Jimmy Yobo and Marvin O’Connor meant they held a 14-7 advantage at the interval.

Evidently frustrated by their first half performance, Racing made mass changes at half-time and it had the desired effect with Thomas touching down to level matters.

The wing then crossed the whitewash for the second time in quick succession as the home side moved in front.

Racing were now firmly in control and Marc Andreu effectively completed the win, despite Morne Steyn’s penalty and a late intercept try via Baptiste Lafond.

The scorers:

For Racing:
Tries: Palu, Thomas 2, Andreu
Cons: Carter, Lambie 3

For Stade:
Tries: Yobo, O’Connor, Lafond
Cons: Plisson 2
Pen: Steyn
Yellow Card: Zhvania

Racing 92: 15 Louis Dupichot, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Anthony Tuitavake, 12 Albert Vulivuli, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Antoine Gibert, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Boris Palu, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Vasil Kakovin
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 20 Xavier Chauveau, 21 Pat Lambie, 22 Virimi Vakatawa, 23 Census Johnston

Stade Francais: 15 Romain Martial, 14 Marvin O'Connor, 13 Paul Williams, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jimmy Yobo, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Terry Bouhraoua, 8 Sekou Macalou, 7 Mathieu Ugena, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Laurent Panis, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Lucas Da Silva, 17 Emmanuel Felsina, 18 Mathieu De Giovanni, 19 Ryan Chapuis, 20 Clement Daguin, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Baptiste Lafond, 23 Sakaria Taulafo

Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Cedric Marchat, Eric Soulan
TMO: Patrick Dellac

Agen 10-15 Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Armandie

Bordeaux-Begles finally got back to winning ways – easing concerns of being drawn into a relegation battle – by overcoming fellow bottom half outfit Agen.

Rory Teague’s men have struggled over recent weeks but they were much improved in the first half at the Stade Armandie, scoring twice via Blair Connor and Apisai Naqalevu.

Pierre Fouyssac responded for Philippe Sella’s side midway through the opening period before Tiaan Schoeman kicked a drop-goal for Bordeaux in the 44th minute.

Jake McIntyre’s penalty kept the hosts in contention and they looked to put pressure on the opposition rearguard late on, but UBB remained resilient to secure a narrow win.

The scorers:

For Agen:
Try: Fouyssac
Con: McIntyre
Pen: McIntyre

For Bordeaux:
Tries: Connor, Naqalevu
Con: Schoeman
Drop Goal: Schoeman

Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 George Tilsley, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Pierre Fouyssac, 11 Filipo Nakosi, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Antoine Miquel, 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Antoine Erbani, 5 Denis Marchois, 4 Tom Murday, 3 Dave Ryan, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Quentin Bethune
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Yoan Tanga, 19 Opeti Fonua, 20 Paul Abadie, 21 Thomas Vincent, 22 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 23 Arthur Joly

Bordeaux: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Ed Fidow, 13 Jean-Baptiste Dubie, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Tiaan Schoeman, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Jandre Marais, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Florian Dufour, 1 Peni Ravai
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Pierre Gayraud, 19 Loann Goujon, 20 Gauthier Doubrere, 21 Ben Volavola, 22 Romain Lonca, 23 Jean-Baptiste Poux

Referee: Cyril Lafon
Assistant referees: Jonathan Gasnier, Bruno Gabaldon
TMO: Denis Grenouillet

La Rochelle 19-15 Lyon
Stade Marcel-Deflandre

Alexi Bales kicked 11 points as La Rochelle ended their barren run by overcoming Lyon 19-15 in a tense affair between two top-six hopefuls.

Considering the performances of Patrice Collazo’s men over the past 18 months, their dip in form has come as a surprise but they appeared revitalised in the opening half against their fellow play-off challengers.

The hosts initially controlled the match and went into the break with a 13-point buffer thanks to Levani Botia’s try and three Bales penalties.

Lyon did respond before the interval via Jonathan Pelissie’s three-pointer, but they needed to up their game in the second half. That the visitors did as Dylan Cretin crossed the whitewash with half-an-hour remaining.

La Rochelle were now under pressure but Arthur Retiere’s effort off the tee eased concerns, despite Alexandre Menini’s late try for Lyon.

The scorers:

For La Rochelle:
Try: Botia
Con: Bales
Pens: Bales 3, Retiere

For Lyon:
Tries: Cretin, Menini
Con: Pelissie
Pen: Pelissie

La Rochelle: 15 Charles Bouldoire, 14 Arthur Retiere, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Vincent Rattez, 10 Jeremy Sinzelle, 9 Alexis Bales, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Afa Amosa, 6 Levani Botia, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Romain Sazy, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Hikairo Forbes, 1 Lekso Kaulashvili
Replacements: 16 Jean Charles Orioli, 17 Kamaliele Tufele, 18 Gregory Lamboley, 19 Gregory Alldritt, 20 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21 Benjamin Noble, 22 Steeve Barry, 23 Luc Mousset

Lyon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Xavier Mignot, 13 Theo Belan, 12 Thibault Regard, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Mike Harris, 9 Jonathan Pelissie, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Theophile Cotte, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Clement Ric, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Stephane Clement
Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Hendrik Roodt, 19 Julien Puricelli, 20 Frederic Michalak, 21 Hemani Paea, 22 Felix Lambey, 23 Richard Choirat

Referee: Thomas Charabas
Assistant referees: Mathieu Delpy, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin

Oyonnax 29-26 Toulon
Stade Charles-Mathon

Steven Sykes touched down late on as Oyonnax snatched a remarkable 29-26 triumph over Toulon and moved off the bottom of the table.

Despite the issues the strugglers have had this season, Ben Botica is one player to be consistently solid for Adrien Buononato’s men and he was once again in fine form.

Rory Grice and Marcel van der Merwe traded early tries before the kicking of Botica and Anthony Belleau took over. The home side’s fly-half scored four penalties to Belleau’s three as Oyonnax went into the interval 19-16 in front.

It was a lead they would relinquish when Malakai Fekitoa crossed the whitewash for the visitors with 25 minutes remaining.

Buononato’s charges were not finished, however, and Botica reduced the deficit. Although Belleau restored the four-point buffer for Fabien Galthie’s team, Sykes was the hero as the hosts remarkably secured a fourth consecutive victory.

The scorers:

For Oyonnax:
Tries: Grice, Sykes
Cons: Botica 2
Pens: Botica 5

For Toulon:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Fekitoa
Cons: Belleau 2
Pens: Belleau 4

Oyonnax: 15 Quentin Etienne, 14 Dug Codjo, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Ben Botica, 9 James Hall, 8 Rory Grice, 7 Bilel Taieb, 6 Hikawera Elliot, 5 Valentin Ursache, 4 Phoenix Battye, 3 Irakli Mirtskhulava, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Tommy Raynaud
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Geledan, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Thibault Tauleigne, 20 Jeremy Gondrand, 21 Axel Muler, 22 Roimata Hansell-Pune, 23 Pietro Ceccarelli

Toulon: 15 Chris Ashton, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Facundo Isa, 6 Raphael Lakafia, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Marcel Van der Merwe, 2 Anthony Etrillard, 1 Florian Fresia
Replacements: 16 Bastien Soury, 17 Laurent Delboulbes, 18 Samu Manoa, 19 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 20 Jean Monribot, 21 Eneriko Buliruarua, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Xavier Chiocci

Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Thierry Mallet, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Laurent Sclafer

Clermont Auvergne 38-14 Pau
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin

Clermont Auvergne made it three successive wins and ended Pau’s spell of six consecutive victories after a dominant 38-14 triumph at the Marcel Michelin.

Even though the visitors went into the game on an excellent run, boss Simon Mannix decided to make several changes and they were duly exposed by an improved Clermont.

The hosts began quickly and touched down via Peter Betham and Damian Penaud before Ben Mowen reduced the arrears in the 23rd minute.

Les Jaunards were not to be denied, though, and went into the break 24-7 up as Peceli Yato touched down and Patricio Fernandez added a penalty to his three first-half conversions.

Pau pressed at the start of the second period but David Strettle’s long-range effort, following good work from Penaud, ended the match as a contest.

Late on, both teams were awarded penalty tries, but Auvergne deservedly went away with the five points.

The scorers:

For Clermont:
Tries: Betham, Penaud, Yato, Strettle, Penalty try
Cons: Fernandez 4
Pen: Fernandez

For Pau:
Tries: Mowen, Penalty try
Cons: Hastoy
Yellow Card: Hastoy

Clermont: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 David Strettle, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Peter Betham, 10 Patricio Fernandez, 9 William Hutteau, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Peceli Yato, 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Michael Simutoga, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Judicael Cancoriet, 20 Dorian Lavernhe, 21 Wesley Fofana, 22 Scott Spedding, 23 Aaron Jarvis

Pau: 15 Mathias Colombet, 14 Julien Fumat, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Bastien Pourailly, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Baptiste Pesenti, 6 Martin Puech, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Nicolas Corato, 2 Lucas Rey, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Dave Foley, 19 Paddy Butler, 20 Thibault Daubagna, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Florian Nicot, 23 Malik Hamadache

Referee: Sebastien Minery
Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet, Thierry Guilloton
TMO: Eric Gonthier