Bayonne (AFP)
Pau with the success of his striker Antoine Hastoy managed a nice blow by winning in Bayonne (9-3), Saturday at the 9th day of Top 14.
Players Nicolas Godignon, serious and applied in a match without brilliance, signed their second success of the season outside, after the brilliant victory in Clermont (28-37).
They snatched third place in the standings at Basques (21 points each), now fourth, pending the match between Toulouse and Clermont in the evening.
For the Aviron Bayonnais, which suffered its second defeat after Toulon (20-9), this setback without defensive bonus is a serious disappointment against a hypothetical competitor maintained at the end of the season.
Antoine Battut and his teammates lost for the second time to Jean-Dauger (after Clermont), squandering the capital acquired outside (victory at Racing and Agen).
The first sold-out meeting of the season at Jean-Dauger will leave a bitter taste.
The locals have never seemed able to win against their neighbors in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (115 km separates Bayonne from Pau). And it was the scorers who made the difference, with the three penalties Hastoy scored against only one by local scorer Romain Barthélémy.
The context, apocalyptic, with a terrain swept by the rain for several weeks and the players slapped by the wind, did not help. However both teams have tried to bring some play. Without creating frank opportunities.
At the beginning of the second period, the post even sent back an attempt by Barthélémy (47th). A sign of destiny for the Bearnais? Still, that's when Pau put his hand on the ball. And that his highlights have been rewarded.
Rowing has created its first real opportunity seven minutes from the end. But the scrum Pau, in front of his line, pushed back his rival. As she resisted for five long minutes, in her five meters, to the last balloons worn Basques.
© 2019 AFP