Paris (AFP)
Despite fortunes to the contrary, Lyon and Bordeaux remain comfortably at the top of the Top 14, ten points ahead of a herd of teams led by Clermont, Montpellier and Toulon, victories out of the 10th day.
Taken between two European meetings, this day allowed to estimate the forces at the edge of the second third of the regular season. Thus, after two European defeats, the leader Lyon (35 pts) was punished in Montpellier (33-8) and sees Bordeaux (34 pts) melt on him after his performance (34-30) of the weekend on the ground of Racing 92 (11th, 19 pts).
The two virtual semifinalists have margin on their new pursuers with noisy names: Clermont, winner of Agen (30-13), Montpellier and Toulon, victorious in Pau (19-9), are tied with 24 points 3rd, 4th and 5th place.
Meanwhile the last match Sunday (16:50) between Toulouse (10th, 19 pts) and Bayonne (9th, 21 pts), La Rochelle (22 pts) finishes the top 6 after his success against Castres (11th, 18 pts).
By beating in a match of fear Stade Français (26-21), Brive came Sunday to invite himself to the party, at the gates of the qualifying places (7th, 22 pts).
The Parisians, first team to take a point (bonus defensive) in Corrèze this season, have shown beautiful things under the orders of their new duo of novice coaches Laurent Sempéré - Julien Arias, but remain detached as a red lantern (14th, 10th pts).
Perf ': Bordeaux, 12 years later
On March 10, 2007, the Union Bordeaux-Bègles won on the field of Racing 92 (16-12) in Pro D2. Since then, the Girondins had not won a match in the Hauts-de-Seine. The series of nine defeats ended on Saturday in a spectacular match with four tries on each side, class action and so, in the end, a feat in the Arena Defense.
Against the backdrop of a three-quarter duel with a Fijian accent between Virimi Vakatawa (3 tries) and Semi Radradra (2 tries), the UBB assumed its claims against a regular of the first six places. More than ever, the Girondins seem ready to play the first final phase of their history, since their accession to the elite in 2011.
The counter-perf ': Bad luck Lyon
Lyon, another team that took advantage of the World Cup in Japan, where few of its players were sent, saw the first complicated moment of the season.
If the Lyonnaise dike had already been cracked in Clermont on October 20 (24-15) and seriously weakened in the European Cup with two defeats at Northampton (25-14) and Leinster face (13-6), it has this time completely surrendered to Montpellier, leaving the offensive bonus to the opponent (33-8).
Unrecognizable Saturday, the LOU, undefeated in his first seven league games, has won only one game on the last five, against La Rochelle in Top 14 (45-17).
La decla: "Dedication to all the incompetent", signed Urios
The manager of Bordeaux-Bègles Christophe Urios savored in his own way the victory of Bordeaux on the Synthetic Racing: "We prepared the game with this intention, to show who we were.We played to win and today we showed that we could play rugby, and that's a dedication to all rugby incompetents who thought I did not know how to play rugby. " Obviously, Urios had some accounts to settle. The message has passed.
© 2019 AFP