Faced with a La Rochelle team reduced to fourteen from the first minute, Pau had to work hard to win on their lawn (53-33) at the end of a spectacular match. A third victory in a row which allows the Béarnais to regain second place in the Top 14.
Pau asserts itself as the runner-up of Toulouse. The day after Toulon’s success against Montauban, Sébastien Piqueronies’ players had the opportunity to regain their possession during the reception of La Rochelle and they did so at the end of a very spectacular meeting. A scenario that began to be written from the first minute. When receiving a candle from Axel Desperes, Antoine Hastoy had the bad idea of stretching his leg towards the face of Aaron Grandidier, hitting the face of the Béarnais winger with his foot. A gesture beyond the limit which earned a red card for the Maritime opener, who left his team with fourteen for a little over 79 minutes. While Axel Desperes took advantage of the penalty to open the scoring, the match referee scolded Ronan O’Gara for his criticism of this decision with serious consequences.
With one more, the Palois took control of operations and we did not have to wait five minutes to witness the first attempt of the match. On an action initiated by a candle from the opener of the Section, Grégoire Arfeuil was able to find Emilien Gailleton. The latter then threw Fabien Brau-Boirie on the sidelines to allow him to go to queen. Ronan O’Gara then reorganized his team by starting Ihaia West at fly-half in place of his winger Jack Nowell. Despite the contrary circumstances, the Maritimes did not lose their will to fight and the response came at the very end of the first ten minutes. At the end of a long sequence of upwind play, Ulupano Seuteni was shifted by his opener and the gap thus opened allowed him to flatten an attempt bringing his team to a length.
La Rochelle didn’t give up
In addition, Lekson Kaulashvili paid for his team’s indiscipline with a yellow card, putting the two teams back on level terms for ten minutes. People from Palois who immediately put on the warm-up blue, which benefited Grégoire Arfeuil. Found on a nice pass at the foot of Axel Desperes, the winger took advantage of a relay from Reece Hewat to breathe new life into his formation. A crossover between the two teams which continued with this time Jules Favre bringing La Rochelle within a length. Taking advantage of Pau’s indecision at the reception of a play at the foot of Ihaia West, Dillyn Leyds served his center which did not require its rest to flatten. If the two teams neutralized each other for long minutes, it was the Pau players who struck last in this first period.
On a perfectly executed ball, Julian Montoya was able to flatten his team’s third try, ahead by six points at half-time. As soon as the restart, Aaron Grandidier brought the Stade du Hameau to its feet. The Olympic rugby sevens champion with the Blues offered an ultimate solution to give the Section a little more breathing room. While the Rochelais opened their bench, Emilien Gailleton had to give up his place due to injury to Loïc Credoz, visibly suffering from a dislocated shoulder. Despite this, the Béarnais moved forward and it was in force that Thomas Laclayat added to the score ten minutes after returning to the pitch. While the offensive bonus was in sight, Sébastien Piqueronies’ players lost track of the match. Which allowed the Maritimes to get their heads above water. It was first Alexandre Kuntelia who led the charge with a strong try.
Pau snatches the offensive bonus
Then, as the hour mark approached, Dillyn Leyds added to a great inspiration from Davit Niniashvili, recovering a pass after acrobatic contact to flatten it into a corner. A try preceded by a few moments by the red card received by Ronan O’Gara, always so vehement regarding refereeing decisions. The Irish technician thus saw from the stands Charles Kanté-Samba leave his team at thirteen for ten minutes after collapsing a dynamic maul from the Palois. A double numerical superiority which gave some momentum to the Section. Beka Gorgadze responded to conclude a conquering ball at the start of the last quarter of an hour. Fabien Brau-Boirie then put his team back on the path to the offensive bonus after an acrobatic action. Taking advantage of an error of judgment from Dillyn Leyds, the winger recovered the ball by flirting with the touchline but never reaching it.
After verification by video, this attempt was validated by the referee, much to the chagrin of Grégory Alldritt. Determined to deprive their opponents of a five-point victory, the Maritimes pushed again and Jules Favre followed an opening with a low foot from Dillyn Leyds to flatten La Rochelle’s fifth try, transformed by his scorer. Pushed by their public and again in double numerical superiority after the yellow card for Thomas Lavault for not having respected the lane on a touchline, the Section mobilized its forwards for a final carried ball which sent Youri Delhommel to the test well after the siren. An eighth try which allows Pau to take five points during this third victory in a row in the championship (53-33). Which allows the Béarnais to regain second place, two points behind Toulouse. La Rochelle is now three losses in a row and is missing the opportunity to return to the Top 6 in the ranking.
