Thanks to their victory over Montpellier on Saturday (27-17), acquired by three tries to two, Stade Français consolidates its second place in the Top 14 championship (55 points), behind Stade Toulouse (58 pts) which hosts Pau in the evening . The Pink Soldiers thus improve their record at home, with nine wins now for a single defeat. For its part, the MHR sinks a little deeper into the crisis (9th, 39 pts).
Montpellier overthrown
Quickly showered by two tries flattened in quick succession by Montpellier, works of the scrum half Kobus Reinach (9th) then of the back Anthony Bouthier (14th), the Parisian formation reacted by scoring a try on the ball carried by his Argentinian third line Marcos Kremer. The counter unlocked on the Stade Français side, Gonzalo Quesada’s men regained their automatisms and their serenity, well guided by their scrum half Morgan Parra.
Camped in the opposing camp, the Parisians took advantage of the absence of many executives in the MHR pack (Bécognée, Mercer, Camara) to force the Hérault lines, forced to make mistakes. After the break, Parisian domination continued with a magnificent try from center Jérémy Ward in the 45th minute, allowing the Pink Soldiers to take the lead (20-14) for the first time in the game.
The capital club, beaten by Bayonne last week, then experienced a long period of hollow before making the break by its pillar replacing Paul Alo-Emile, for the third try of the Parisians (27-17, 69th).
On the next day, next weekend, Philippe Saint-André’s men will host Clermont. But the reigning French champion, who concedes a fourth loss in a row, sees the Top 6 move away a little more.
Castres curried
What about Castres, the last finalist! The shock of the change of manager operated this week with the arrival at the bedside of the Tarn club of Jeremy Davidson in place of Pierre-Henri Broncan did not bear fruit. The CO did not really exist in Bayonne (5th), still as sovereign at home with a bonus as a bonus, important in the fight for qualification (41-10). It was necessary to keep up with the frenetic pace of the other Top 6 candidates playing at home who all improved their success.
Special mention first in Lyon (3rd), opposed to a direct rival, Racing 92, which relied on a very efficient three-quarter line (4 tries scored including a double from Georgian winger Davit Niniashvili) to win easily (45-11). The Ile-de-France are the big losers of the day and could lose their current 7th place if Toulon succeeds Sunday evening in Clermont.
La Rochelle (4th), boosted by its success at Castres last weekend, did not fall into the Brive trap of its former manager Patrice Collazo. It took until the 78th minute for Levani Botia to finally secure the 5th point for the Maritimes (32-16) against the bottom of the class.
Finally, Chaban once again sang the found attacking game of Bordeaux-Bègles (6th), silent for three matches. It was Perpignan, revamped, which paid the price for the Girondin awakening with six tries conceded including a hat-trick from Argentinian winger Santiago Cordero (43-7).
In the evening, the leader Toulouse will try to imitate this ambitious wagon when receiving Pau (12th), also in the grip of doubt lately.
