Top 14 drill down: Pau condemn league leaders Bordeaux to a fourth defeat in a row

Antoine Hastoy scored the crucial try in a 23-16 win in the last minute, two minutes after Bordeaux’s Vadim Cobilas was held up over the line at the other end of the pitch for a score that would have decided the match in the home side’s favour.
Top 14 drill down: Pau condemn league leaders Bordeaux to a fourth defeat in a row

HERO OF THE HOUR: Pau's fly-half Antoine Hastoy celebrates after scoring the winning tray against Bordeaux at Chaban-Delmas stadium 

Mon, 07 Mar, 2022 - 09:53
James Harrington

Three matches in a dramatic Top 14 weekend were decided in the seconds either side of the final whistle; two unbeaten runs screeched to a halt, and the leader needed help from elsewhere to stay top of the pile.

That, in brief, is the Top 14 weekend that was.

Eight sides have completed 20 scheduled matches and get a three-week break before the next full Top 14 programme kicks off on March 26.

But Montpellier face Toulon and then Toulouse in the next fortnight; Toulon also host La Rochelle, and Clermont entertain Bordeaux, as the six clubs behind on their fixtures because of Covid-19 use the two free weekends to catch up as the Top 14 tries to avoid scheduling midweek games.

By the time March 26 comes around, the Covid-19 bend in the French top flight will have finally unwound, and we’ll have a far clearer idea of where the 14 teams actually are as twin races to the play-offs and to avoid relegation enter the final straights. Until then, things are slightly skewed.

Here are the results of the weekend’s seven matches - yes, you’re reading that Perpignan-Racing score properly.

And here’s the latest Top 14 table, with the play-off race bunching at the top, and Biarritz falling dangerously away at the other end.

When unbeaten runs collide 

The weekend’s first match saw Montpellier, on a run of nine wins and a draw this season, head to fortress Pierre Fabre - where Castres have not lost in the Top 14 since December 2020, some 18 matches ago.

Here’s a remarkable fact: since Pierre-Henry Broncan became head coach in January 2021, no Top 14 side has scored more league points than Castres.

They added another five to their tally with a 25-9 bonus-point victory, despite playing the entire second half with 14, after Vilimoni Botitu was sent off late in the opening period for a high tackle on Montpellier’s France U20 fly-half Louis Foursans-Bourdette - who, quite correctly, was also promptly sent for an HIA by referee Tual Trainini.

It didn’t stop Castres. They scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the second half - Thomas Combezou marking his 200th appearance with an acrobatic touchdown over a ruck in the 49th minute as determined Castres took the game away from the visitors despite their numerical disadvantage, then simply refused to let Montpellier play well.

Montpellier coach Philippe Saint-Andre made that crucial point afterwards. “Our strong point is usually our pragmatism and efficiency,” he said. “[But here] we were not, in part due to Castres’ big defence and efficiency. They were solid, massive, powerful. They were better than us.” 

The inconvenient corollary to one side losing is that the other side won for that reason Saint-Andre mentioned. Defeated teams do not lose in a vacuum. A poor performance is, more often than not, the result of a side being stopped from playing better. This is not recognised enough.

Pau-dacity 

“The players showed nerve, audacity, and commitment. I am proud of this audacity,” beamed proud Pau head coach Sebastien Piqueronies after watching his side condemn league leaders Bordeaux to a fourth defeat in a row - and a second this season at Chaban-Delmas.

Antoine Hastoy scored the crucial try in a 23-16 win in the last minute, two minutes after Bordeaux’s Vadim Cobilas was held up over the line at the other end of the pitch for a score that would have decided the match in the home side’s favour. It was that sort of game.

Thanks to the earlier result at Castres and the later one at Clermont, Bordeaux held onto top spot in the league, but their lead has been cut from 10 at the end of January to just one. They travel to Clermont next week for a match postponed earlier in the season.

Manager Christophe Urios insisted he was not angry after his side slipped to another loss. “I’m frustrated, yes,” he told reporters. “I am concerned about one thing - how we get back on track. I could say a lot of things tonight, but I'm not going to say anything. I'd rather stay focused on what we have to do.

“We're not playing well, we're not ready physically, we're not ready in our rugby. We have to get better. It's my job to find the solution. When Jalibert pulled-up injured [in the warm-up], we felt that everyone started looking at his shoes.” 

Bonus bagged in 40 minutes 

A glance at the points stats is enough to demonstrate the overwhelming dominance of Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle at home against a heavily rotated Brive as Saturday afternoon drifted into evening at Marcel Deflandre.

Brive scored first - a penalty in the third minute. But by the time they scored again, in the 47th, the hosts had run in five tries and Ihaia West had kicked a penalty of his own.

Two minutes after that brief score of defiance, La Rochelle added their sixth try. It was more than enough - the hosts didn’t score again - but O’Gara will be quietly annoyed that his defence shipped a late try to take the final score to 41-15.

Afterwards, Brive head coach Jeremy Davidson was succinct: “We started the match well and after that, it was a disaster.” He did say more, but that pretty much summed up the match for the visitors.

Biarritz downed and all-but out 

Biarritz president Jean-Baptiste Aldige admitted the worst after their 45-17 loss at home against Toulon: “We don't have a foot-and-a-half, but two feet in Pro D2 - a dream has faded,” he said. “We will try to enjoy, to the full, the two months that are left.” 

Saturday’s match against 12th-placed Toulon, was win-or-bust for the Basque Country side, promoted from the ProD2 in a dramatic play-off against local rivals Bayonne last season.

It was, in the end, cruelly, a bust. Toulon - out-of-sorts, short-on-confidence 12th-placed Toulon - scored three times in the closing 13 minutes, picking up a crucial bonus point with a penalty try after 78 minutes.

Until then, this had been a nip-tuck encounter. “We were neck and neck in the game for a long time,” coach Franck Azema explained afterwards. “They came back to within four points and we were pragmatic. We didn't panic and kept control .... It was a good operation. It was necessary, we know. We are in the race for survival, this is the reality.” 

Perpignan prove a point - but have a problem 

Despite their five points on the road, Toulon have not escaped relegation’s strong gravitational pull.

Azema’s side may be 12 points clear of near-doomed basement club Biarritz, but they’re just two points ahead of 13th-placed Perpignan - who ended Racing 92’s six-match winning run with a 34-13 bonus point victory of their own at Stade Aime-Giral.

The visitors, frankly, weren’t at the races. It was a dismal performance.

“We wanted to play and prove that Perpignan was a good team,” loosehead Sacha Lotrian told reporters after the enterprising Catalans had run rings around their galactico opponents in front of their joyful fans who revelled in what they were seeing; what Lotrian described as ‘the rugby we love’.

There’s a reason that post-match dressing room photograph is an image of relief rather than joy, however.

Perpignan’s problem, as they head into their international break with their full quota of 20 matches fulfilled, is that Toulon have two games in hand to pull away before the scheduled Top 14 programme returns. Their hope, and that of Brive, next in line and three points clear of Perpignan: those matches are against Montpellier and La Rochelle.

Cruel reminder 

Those defeats for Bordeaux and Montpellier meant third-placed Lyon could overtake both and head into their break period at the head of the Top 14 if they could win at Clermont for the first time in 89 years.

Visiting sides have a poor record at Marcel Michelin. Clermont have won eight of nine this season - their only loss coming against Castres back in September, and the Vern Cotter era, when they went 77 matches undefeated at home, is not that long ago.

And Lyon will have to wait a while longer to break their losing run there after their attacking finesse - with 54 tries this season, they have the second best attack in the Top 14, behind La Rochelle - was outmuscled in a match that was still, somehow, in the balance with a minute left on the clock.

The final 25-16 score looks pretty definitive. But the visitors were leading in the 76th minute. Then Morgan Parra kicked a penalty - and sevens convert Jean-Pascal Barraque sealed the deal with an opportunist try, flopping onto the ball in the in-goal area after Leo Berdeu made a mess of clearing up after his midfield as they chased the winning score.

That ending was a cruel reminder, Pierre Mignoni admitted: “At the very highest level you have to be diligent until the last moment.” Defeat would have all-but ended Clermont’s play-off hopes. Understandably, then, Jono Gibbes was happy enough: “We showed a lot of character,” he said. “We needed this win, and it's a great reward for this group which showed a lot of solidarity. We didn't give up.” 

Showbiz finale to Classico II 

The final match of the weekend - Stade Francais against Toulon. The third to be decided in the dying moments. And the second Classico match in three weeks in which the lead changed hands with the clock in the red.

Stade Francais’ Joris Segonds landed a far-from-simple penalty to decide a rescheduled Classico I in early February. On Sunday, Kylan Hamdaoui finished off a 70m attack started by summer signing Ngani Laumape’s break, more than 70 minutes after the latter’s perfect pass gave Waisea a run-in score.

It was a freakishly showbiz ending to a match in which, after a slow start, a Six Nations-weakened Toulouse had made their own in the forwards.

Stade Francais manager Gonzalo Quesada admitted - with the clock ticking past 80 and the scores level - that he did not believe his side would be able to win: "We expected a very tight game, very close, with a lot at stake for both teams.

“We expected a huge fight so we were not surprised. I felt that it was going to be very complicated but that last play... Finally, this time, we managed to break through the defence and I am very relieved.” 

The result sees Toulouse drop out of the top six for the first time this season. They have one more match, against Montpellier on March 20, before they get their French internationals back.

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