Biarritz rocked by Dax
Dax, who last week claimed their first away win in the Top 14 in eight years, went one better on Friday, beating Biarritz handsomely 30- 18.
Dax, who last week claimed their first away win in the Top 14 in eight years, went one better on Friday, beating Biarritz handsomely 30- 18.
The Landais thoroughly deserved their victory, but there are worrying signs for Biarritz that last season's rot is not yet out of the system.
The visitors offered very little, perhaps believing they merely had to turn up and do simple things to win. Possession was frittered away with some atrocious kicking, and the discipline was awful.
Referee David Rosich was perhaps a little over-zealous regarding players going off their feet, but referees have been told to be so, and Biarritz wasted an awful lot of energy complaining about it, energy they could have been using to stay on their feet.
Dax's first try came from a kick misfield by Damien Traille, scooped up by Federico Martin Aramburu and brilliently offloaded to Fijian Neumi Nanuku. It was converted by man of the match Antoine Vigneau-Tuquet, who added a penalty moments later.
Biarritz did at least pull the score back, with an intercept try by flanker Romain Cabannes, but Vigneau-Tuquet slotted two more penalties before the break, as Biarritz fast ran out of ideas in attack, and out of discipline on the ball.
Valentin Courrent briefly got Biarritz back to within seven with a penalty, but Nanuku's second try, the result of a sublime pass and run from Vigneau-Tuquet, killed the game off.
Courrent again reduced the arrears, but then turned villain as his lazy kick was charged down by Vigneau-Tuquet, and the fly-half sauntered under the posts, landing the conversion to make it 30-13.
Courrent scored a late try himself, but it was about as irrelevant as it gets. The party in Dax had long since begun.
The scorers:
For Dax
Tries: Nanuku 2, Vigneau-Tuquet
Cons: Vigneau-Tuquet 3
Pens: Vigneau-Tuquet 3
For Biarritz:
Tries: Cabannes, Courrent
Con: Yachvili
Pens: Courrent 2