Red lantern of the Top 14, Montpellier obtained a valuable success in the race to maintain against Toulon (27-17), Sunday evening.
Tops
A crucial success for the MHR in the race to maintain
Red lantern of the Top 14 and relegated eight points behind Lou (13th) and Oyonnax (12th) before this match, the MHR had no right to make mistakes against Rugby Club Toulonnais. United in defense, Patrice Collazo’s men dominated the proceedings in the first period, without conceding any clear chances, and returned to the locker room with a 7-point lead (13-6). Strongly undisciplined (10 penalties conceded), the Cistes were cornered in their camp during the second act but only conceded two penalties from Melvyn Jaminet. Realistic about their rare highlights, they managed to score two additional tries (52nd, 69th) to obtain a provisional offensive bonus point. Before losing it a few minutes later with Dany Priso’s try, at the conclusion of a carried ball (73rd). But the important thing was elsewhere: this success, only the third for the MHR this season, could well prove to be a foundation in the race to maintain.
Doumayrou, a timely return
After eleven months of absence and a debut against Castres, Geoffrey Doumayrou celebrated his first start since the start of the season on Sunday evening. At the conclusion of a surplus, the center scored a try in the sixth minute to put his team on the right track. Valuable in defense, the Montpellier executive has often raised his voice to encourage his partners and his return to the group should prove valuable for the Cistes in the race to maintain. Author of the interception which led to Nicolaas Janse Van Rensburg’s break try (52nd), he left to the applause of the GGL Stadium in the 70th minute, replaced by Paolo Garbisi.
Louis Carbonel punishes his former partners
What a match from the youngster from La Rade! Transferred to Montpellier in 2022, Louis Carbonel played a very nasty trick at the RCT on Sunday evening. Author of a faultless foot (5/5) and 12 points, the opening half of the MHR knew how to play the game as evidenced by the first try from Geoffrey Doumayrou (6th), who starts from him. Precise in his busy kicking game, he was able to give his partners some breathing room when the boat was rocking in the second act, notably with a flattened ball in his in-goal after a kick from Ben Whitre for Gabin Villière (64th) who could have revived the Varois.
Flops
Gigashvili, a costly mistake
This is undoubtedly the turning point of the match. While the RCT had returned from the locker room with much better intentions and dominated the debates, a twist of fate changed their meeting. While Jaminet was receiving a candle from Carbonel, replacement pillar Beka Gigashvili was found and tried to restart but his pass was intercepted by Geoffrey Doumayrou, omnipresent on Sunday evening. The center then serves Nicolaas Janse Van Rensburg, who accelerates and flattens into a corner (52nd). After Louis Carbonel’s transformation, the Cistes took a comfortable lead of 11 points (20-9) and the Varois will not recover. Proof of the RCT’s difficulties in realizing their superiority, it conceded a third try through Paul Willemse (69th) while the MHR was playing at 14 after the yellow card of Tyler Duguid, author of a voluntary forward attempt.
The Var touch in difficulty
Two balls lost at the entrance to the opposing 22 meters and a throw not straight. Jack Singleton’s touchline record and his alignment were particularly detrimental to Rugby Club Toulonnais, unable to improve on their highlights in the opposing camp during the first act. Enough to give Pierre Mignoni a huge rant in the locker room at the break, while the weeks follow one another and are similar for the Varois in this sector. On his entry, Christopher Tolofua and his lineup also lost a hot throw, 5 meters from the opposing goal.
A zero-point move for the RCT
Toulon could assert itself on the podium in the event of a victory, but this is not the case. Ghostly in the first period, the Rouge et Noir had to wait until the locker room returned to wake up and continue playing time. But a lack of realism in the scoring areas and individual errors marred their overall score and annihilated their hopes a second away success. The bottom of the table is clearly not working for the Varois. Beaten five times since the start of the season, they were notably defeated by Perpignan, Lyon and therefore Montpellier, three of the bottom four in the ranking.
2024-01-07 23:22:20
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