Top 14 drilldown: A patched-up Racing 92 slipped to 10th

Comebacks, Covid and injured cameramen were amongst the talking points on a dramatic weekend of Top 14 rugby action
Bordeaux' Italian wing Federico Mori dived spectacularly over for his second with five minutes left on the clock to push the hosts just beyond Biarritz’s reach, injuring a Canal+ camera operator in the proc

Bordeaux' Italian wing Federico Mori dived spectacularly over for his second with five minutes left on the clock to push the hosts just beyond Biarritz’s reach, injuring a Canal+ camera operator in the proc

Mon, 03 Jan, 2022 - 12:58
James Harrington

Top 14 drilldown

Covid-19 had its say on the Top 14 schedule for the second week in a row, with Toulon’s trip to Montpellier called off after Franck Azema’s side reported ‘many positive cases’ in their camp.

The announcement - and the postponement that inevitably followed - followed the imposition of stringent new health measures on professional rugby in France, after four matches over the lucrative holiday weekend were put back to a later, unspecified, date.

Toulon are stuck on four matches in the Azema era, despite the fact he has been in charge since the end of October. They’ve won three, but haven’t played since early December, so it remains difficult to judge the new head coach’s impact. And now they have two matches to catch up in an already heavily congested calendar.

But - despite the troubling health situation in France, with crowds limited to a maximum of 5,000 in open-air stadiums, and 2,000 for indoor venues from Monday - four matches decided by the width of a penalty gave the opening Top 14 weekend of 2022 something of a party atmosphere, as Midi Olympique acknowledged in its latest issue.

 

The weekend’s results were as follows:

And the table - distorted by Covid-19 - looks like this:

Win goes West 

Fly-half Ihaia West missed two last-gasp penalties - including a very kickable one after the hooter - as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle gave up a sizeable lead to lose a Top 14 comeback thriller at Castres 31-30.

It is not the first time O’Gara’s side have given up a big advantage on the road this season. In early December, they were 20-6 ahead at Stade Francais inside 30 minutes, and lost 25-20.

They were 24-3 up after 25 minutes at Castres’ Stade Pierre Fabre on Sunday. Then they lost - in turn - the bonus point, the initiative, the lead, and the game . At 24-3, Castres were out of it. But going in at halftime 24-17, after two tries of their own in 11 minutes, it seemed they had a sniff of a chance. They did. And they took it.

The result must infuriate O’Gara, who last week called on his side to play with the same freedom and attacking intent on the road as they managed at home. By the time West - arguably one of the best players on the pitch - missed those late penalties, either side of the 80-minute mark, La Rochelle had lost control of a match they should have won much earlier.

But he defended his wayward goalkicker. “We were better than in our most recent away games but it is not enough. When you score 30 points away from home, you have to win the game."

"We should have killed the game long before those kicks and shouldn't have been relying on a last-second kick. The good thing about the Top 14 is that there is another game the following week."

Urios fumes as Bordeaux gift Biarritz crucial point 

Bordeaux opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table with a widely anticipated win at home to basement club Biarritz - but head coach Christophe Urios was fuming rather than celebrating afterwards.

With good reason - he’d just watched them ship 21 points after the clock had ticked past 70-minutes after they had been in full control of the match. He would have been quietly relieved Italian wing Frederico Mori dived spectacularly over for his second with five minutes left on the clock to push the hosts just beyond Biarritz’s reach, injuring a Canal+ camera operator in the process.

It finished 30-27, after Henry Speight crashed over five minutes after the hooter had sounded to win the visitors a potentially crucial losing bonus point, just their second on the road this season.

“At the end, we let go of the match,” Urios said. “We did the bare minimum … but in the end, we gave up on the game. It’s a point lost.”

For Biarritz - who remain rooted to the foot of the table, but who are now level on points with 13th-placed Perpignan - this was a loss that felt like a win. 

Next week’s match between the two bottom clubs at Parc des Sports Aguilera suddenly takes on additional meaning.

Racing’s ‘good’ defeat 

A patched-up Racing 92 slipped to 10th in the table after a fourth Top 14 defeat on the bounce - a thrilling 37-35 loss at Lyon, completed by France scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud’s 78th-minute score but decided by 23-year-old fly-half Leo Berdeu’s personal tally of 27 points, including two tries.

But their performance in defeat at Lyon’s Stade Gerland has put future opponents on notice - 10th place now is irrelevant. The only league position that counts is at the end of the season. And Racing intend to be much higher in the table then.

The visitors were without 15 senior players - positive Covid tests accounted for Teddy Thomas, Gael Fickou, Victor Moreaux, Baptiste Chouzenoux, Kurtley Beale, Eddy Ben Arous and Ibrahim Diallo, while the club’s long-term injury list includes Baptiste Pesenti, Nolan Le Garrec, Boris Palu, Teddy Iribaren and Fabien Sanconnie.

And they still pushed Lyon all the way on their own turf, and were even leading by three heading into the final two minutes before Josua Tuisova committed four defenders and offloaded to Thibault Regard just inside his own half, to set up Couilloud’s late score.

“If we had put so much intensity into other matches this season, we might have won tonight,” Racing’s Laurent Travers said afterward. “If we put the same intensity in other matches, we will win other matches. There are a lot of positives and we can have hope for the next 13 matches.” 

Some big names are set to return soon enough for Racing. With this performance as a blueprint, the second half of the season looks like a strong one.

Toulouse coulda, shoulda, won it 

Toulouse lacked ‘humility and composure’ in their 16-13 loss at Clermont, according to head coach Ugo Mola - but he will have wondered on the bus back home how the defending champions managed to lose a game they had every chance to win.

“There was room to do better but we must also learn to respect the game and take points when they come along,” he said, after his side’s losing streak at Marcel Michelin, dating back to May 2002, was extended for another season.

The match kicked off in dramatic fashion - both sides had run in tries in the opening 12 minutes - but then somehow failed to boil over, and remained stuck on whistle-heavy interrupted simmer until full time.

It needed the calm head of Camille Lopez, on as a second-half replacement for JJ Hanrahan, to settle matters. He levelled the scores with a cool 67th-minute drop goal and kicked the 72nd-minute penalty to settle the match. They’ll miss his experience and sang-froid next season.

"Playing a great Toulouse side and beating them does us a lot of good," Lopez told broadcaster Canal+ afterward. "You have to give everything against a team like that or you'll concede 30 points.” 

Jordan’s back 

The big news out of Pau after their 43-20 home win over Brive - another match in which the final score was inflated by late tries, four in the closing 13 minutes - should not be the result, though it moved Pau nine points clear of the relegation zone, above Stade Francais, Racing 92 and Toulon.

The return of the former France U20 prodigy Jordan Joseph’s shy, fleeting smile, and with it his ability to make a Jordan Joseph-sized impact on a game, should be the story of the day from Stade du Hameau.

Fabien Galthie won’t yet start pencilling his name into the margins of France teamsheets, but he’ll definitely pay closer attention. July’s two-Test Japan tour, possibly, may be an option.

The number 8, on loan at Pau from Racing 92 and clearly enjoying life in southwest France under his old Bleus’ under-20s boss Sebastien Piqueronies, scored Pau’s first in the 34th minute, his third for the Bearn side, and made their last in the 78th with a fly-half worthy pass, and spent much of the rest of the match - in conjunction with fellow backrow Beka Gorgadze - making life a misery for Brive at the breakdown and in the loose.

But perfectionist Piqueronies wants more. “I can not wait for us to start matches more calmly,” he said after seeing Brive - playing for the first time in a month - take a third-minute lead. “This group will go much further when it knows how to act rather than react.”

Stade Francais breathe more freely 

Attack-shy Stade Francais eased away from the relegation black hole on Saturday with a win-at-all-costs 27-17 result over fellow lower-table strugglers Perpignan at Stade Jean Bouin. “We took care of the essentials,” head coach Gonzalo Quesada said, referencing his side’s recent three-week inactivity because of Covid-19. “The most important thing was to open this block [of games] with a victory, even if the preparation conditions were limited.

“We had opportunities, but we missed a lot of chances to score. There is a bit of frustration that we didn’t make it easier for ourselves.”

Toulon-bound Waisea Nayacalevu scored both of the Paris’ side’s tries and could have had a third, while Perpignan will rue the inaccuracies that denied them at least a defensive bonus point. “We have the feeling of not being far away,” coach David Marty said, “but in key moments, we cannot turn the match in our favour.” 

The problem for the Catalans is ‘not far away’ is also ‘not close enough’. Half of their remaining games are away from home - including next weekend’s now absolutely crucial match at Biarritz.

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