Paris (AFP)
It is tight in European Challenge: Toulon won against the Scarlets after ten additional minutes and on the smallest margin (17-16), like Stade Français, sick man of the Top 14, in Zebre (13-12 ) Saturday during the 2nd day.
The RCT wants to play the second European competition thoroughly and showed it Friday: led 16-10 to the siren, he was able to wait to register, seven minutes later, the test of hope on a work of his forwards . It was still necessary for Anthony Belleau to transform. What N.12 did ... with a returning pole!
Suspense to the end, there was also in Edinburgh, where Bordeaux-Bègles, the other very ambitious French club this season, went to get the draw (16-16) thanks to a penalty from his opener Matthieu Jalibert two minutes from the end. Who gains experience and coolness for failing to compete in the race-queen, the European Cup.
Toulon is at the top of Pool 2 (9 points), UBB is up to Edinburgh in Pool 3 (7 points). And the rest of the French clubs? He saw this phase of pools with more or less enthusiasm, like the Stade Français, last in the Top 14 and who had called his reservists against Brive (defeat 27-11) after the dismissal of his coach Heyneke Meyer and his South African assistants.
But in Italy, the interim Laurent Sempere and Julien Arias have decided to put their executives in the saddle (Yoann Maestri, Sekou Macalou, Nicolas Sanchez, Jonathan Danty, Gael Fickou, Kylan Hamdaoui) so that Parisians regain confidence in a week of an anxiety trip to Brive in the league. Bet succeeded in Parma, but narrowly: Zebre returned to a point in the last minutes.
Also defeated on the first day, Pau and Castres reacted at home against Calvisano (61-10) and Worcester (17-9). Three French clubs lost each time to English clubs: Bayonne at London Irish (45-31), Agen at Wasps (32-14) and Brive against Bristol (36-0).
© 2019 AFP