Facing a Toulon team which has too often played backwards, Bordeaux-Bègles signs an improved victory (46-7) during the closing match of the 12th day of the Top 14. The Girondins take advantage of this to take third place in the ranking from the Varois.
Bordeaux-Bègles is moving forward again. Beaten by Pau then in Montpellier before the continental window, Yannick Bru’s players had to recover during the reception of Toulon but above all regain confidence. For this, the Girondins lined up their best team from the start and they could not be late at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. Indeed, Louis Bielle-Biarrey only needed 90 seconds to flatten the first try of the match. On a low pass from Matthieu Jalibert, the UBB winger showed his burst of speed to catch the ball and flatten it into a corner. Caught cold, the Toulonnais immediately tried to react. After a breakthrough from Juan Ignacio Brex following a touch from five meters, Dany Priso tried to force the passage but he was unable to flatten.
A lack of success which was the common thread of the RCT’s performance during this closing poster of the 12th day of the Top 14. Taking advantage of a mistake by Setariki Tuicuvu, Maxime Lucu used the precision of his foot to add three points on penalty with the UBB which was then at more than one point per minute. In great form, Matthieu Jalibert tried everything to play against the Var defense but the two teams were able to neutralize each other. It was thus in the middle of the first act that the score moved againMaxime Lucu passing a second penalty to give his team a thirteen-point lead. A gap which increased again a quarter of an hour before the break thanks to Romain Buros.
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Staggered by a Damian Penaud who made the RCT defense dizzy, the UBB rear was quicker than Gaël Dréan to go to queen. The offensive bonus was in sight just six minutes later. This time, it was Maxime Lucu who found “LBB” with a precise foot pass. However, the Gironde winger was selfless because, after passing the Toulon defensive curtain, he served Nicolas Depoortere on a plate. The latter did not ask for his rest to flatten at the foot of the poles. The end of the first act saw Toulon lose Swan Rebbadj to injury, replaced by Corentin Mézou. Trailing by 27 points at half-time, the RCT approached the second act with the desire to do better after a very complicated first 40 minutes. Except that even a little sleepy, the UBB players were solid.
A recovery which saw Dany Priso go out on concussion protocol but without being authorized to resume the game. Which will complicate Pierre Mignoni’s life a little more in the coming weeks with a position as a deprived left pillar. A start that the Toulonnais believed to materialize in the score a quarter of an hour after the restart. In a confused action, which saw the UBB defense stop playing, Jules Coulon went to flatten between the posts. However, an advance detected by the video caused the cancellation of this test. But it was only a postponement. Indeed, while Boris Palu received a yellow card following the increase in mistakes by his team, Brian Alainu’uese went to queen.
Bordeaux-Bègles knew how to wake up
The second line victoriously concluded a well-driven ball, taking out the UBB offensive bonus at the same time. A test conceded which woke up Yannick Bru’s players. Indeed, in the process, Cameron Woki brought the ball into the goal but no image allowed us to see if he had flattened it properly. But the last quarter of an hour was one-sided in favor of the defending Champions Cup holder. After an action initiated by a bright breakthrough from Maxime Lucu, the RCT was penalized five meters from its line. Matthieu Jalibert accelerated the tempo by playing this penalty quickly to dive into the Toulon in-goal. Ugo Boniface consolidated the offensive bonus in strength. The pillar followed the movement well on a carried ball to score his team’s fifth try.
Playing despite everything until the end, the Toulon players ran into a wall and demonstrated a certain clumsiness as with
Gaël Dréan who let the ball escape while the door was wide open. They then burst past the siren one last time. With Romain Buros in charge, Salesi Rayasi moved towards the left wing before diving into the goal to end the celebration in style. Maxime Lucu then signed his only foot failure but the main thing was elsewhere. Bordeaux-Bègles returns to victory in the Top 14 (46-7) and takes advantage of the five points collected to move ahead of Toulon in the standingsat the same time taking third place. As against Stade Français and Toulouse, the RCT conceded more than 40 points away and fell back in the hierarchy.
