Biarritz (AFP)
Biarritz likes big people.
After Bordeaux-Bègles at the opening of the championship, the promoted one offered himself Saturday during the 3rd day of the Top 14 the scalp of Racing 92 (28-19), beaten for the first time of the season.
Still undefeated on his green lawn in Aguiléra, the BO successfully used the same ingredients as against the UBB (27-15) two weeks ago: commitment, enthusiasm and solidarity.
The Hauts-de-Seine club, for its part, lacked all of that, and above all showed too much indiscipline and clumsiness to hope to bring back something from the Basque coast.
The desire of Biarritz was only rewarded with a try, in the first half, on a ball carried by the young hooker Lucas Peyresblanques, who received a standing ovation from Aguiléra during his outing on a stretcher, a few minutes later, after having been injured on an opposing clearing.
But the English opener of the BO Brett Herron knew how to make fruit the errors of Ile-de-France.
He only missed one kick, the first, before putting together eight and piling up 23 points in total.
Undoubtedly moderately impressed by what he saw in the first act, Ile-de-France coach Laurent Travers sounded the end of recess in the 43rd minute, with six changes at once, including a first row and a hinge all new.
The joy of Barnabe Couilloud during the Top 14 match won by Biarritz against Racing 92 on Saturday September 18 in Biarritz GAIZKA IROZ AFP
Racing added two tries to the one scored earlier by Argentinian winger Juan Imhoff, including one, on a penetrating maul, from international hooker Camille Chat, who was also imprecise on his throws in touch.
Neither the return of the sun, nor the late try of the former Bayonnais Baptiste Chouzenoux, however, was enough to reverse the trend.
Pushed by his home crowd, Biarritz held on and brought down another semi-finalist from last season.
And that's good, the other two, La Rochelle and Toulouse, are looming on his horizon in the coming weeks.
© 2021 AFP