Valence-Romans travels to Vannes this Wednesday, September 27 (7:45 p.m.) for the 6th day of Pro D2, with an ambitious starting XV made up of the Drôme staff who hope to bring back their first points away from Brittany this season .
By Ch.G. – 12:05 | updated at 12:42
A duel at the top
The VRDR, 4th in the Pro D2 after its three victories including two bonuses (against Biarritz and Brive), moves to 2nd in the Pro D2 ranking (behind Aix-en-Provence) on Wednesday. A real test for the surprising Drômois, on the pitch of a team which has not yet tasted defeat this season (4 wins, 1 draw).
Faced with the best defense in the championship, Valence-Romans, which travels with ambitions and therefore a largely competitive team, hopes to resist as long as possible against a contender for promotion to the Top 14, and dreams of taking its first in Morbihan points outside, and why not achieve a major feat.
An isolated match
After a two-week break at the end of the first block, the VRDR returns to service for an isolated match, two weeks after the victory against Brive (45-10). This is one of the reasons why the Damiers staff chose continuity in their starting lineup.
A calculated ”risk”, since the Drôme warriors will then have fifteen days to recover, the next day being scheduled for October 13 with the reception in Rouen (7:30 p.m.).
First for McCauley
Arrived this summer and since injured his pectorals, 2nd row Ryan McCauley made his first appearance in the group during this trip to Brittany. The Australian (26 years old) will be on the substitutes’ bench at kick-off, and should be able to play his first minutes of play in his new colors.
A valuable return to business for the VRDR staff, who will have an additional rotation option at the position, and will gain height in the alignment (2.03 m; 118 kg).
Unsuccessful trips, so far
After 5 days the VRDR already totals 14 points, and these were all collected at home since the trips to Montauban (20-3) and Nevers (35-5) did not bring back a single unit.
So here is the objective of the VRDR at the dawn of this 6th day: to grab its first away point(s) at the Rabine stadium to build up confidence, maintain the good momentum from the start of the season, and to appear at the top of the table for as long as possible.
The two best defenses head to head
This match between Bretons and Drômois will be that of the two best defenses in the championship. If the Vannes residents have only conceded 62 points since the start of the season (12.4 on average per match), Valence-Romans’ record is not bad either for a promoted player who is placed in 2nd position in this ranking with 87 points conceded (17.4/match).
If defense will be decisive to hope to bring back something from this long journey to Morbihan, it will also be necessary to be efficient in attack. A sector in which the Damiers, who have only scored 8 points in two away games, will have to do better than that to cause problems for the Bretons.
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