What a weekend of French rugby. If you watched my reel last Friday at the_toulousain_rugby on Instagram, you will know that I was going for victories for Pau, Perpignan and La Rochelle. So let’s get that out of the way right away.
Perpignan’s experience, nous, Top 14 savvy, whatever you wish to call it, took them comfortably past Provence in the end, although for the first thirty minutes Provence took the fight to their heavyweight opponents and played some attractive rugby, leading 10-0 at one point, before going in at half-time already behind 10-14. Final score of 47-24 to Perpignan, and the advantage of a regular season of 26 games in the Top 14 (Perpignan) compared to 30 and a lost final against Vannes last week (Provence) becomes clear. A personal highlight has to be Peceli Yato, the 33 year old Fijian, jogging 80 metres for this beautiful try…
La Rochelle were simply overwhelmed last night in Paris, and never got in the game. Just for the record, in the Canal + studio pre-match, both Thierry Dusautoir and Sebastien Chabal went for La Rochelle! There was a horrible sequence early in the second half when their lineout went to pieces, and their scrum was being dominated, which made any thoughts of a comeback hopelessly optimistic. Maybe the effort required to squeak into the top 6 and qualify for the ‘phases finales’ had taken its toll, although to be honest, Stade Francais in last night’s mood will be a handful for anybody. La Rochelle were not helped by first half injuries to prop Joel Sclavi, second row Charles Kante Samba and flanker Paul Boudehent, but they were battered, in a way not often seen at this level. Led by flanker Romain Briatte and number 8 Yoan Tanga, who may have wanted to show his old teammates what they were missing, the ‘pink army’ simply piled into the opposition, and forced them into submission. Montpellier await on Saturday night in Marseille.
The really interesting game was at Pau, where their regular season unbeaten home record was on the line, and ultimately taken from them.
For Racing, scrum half Leo Carbonneau was the spark. Scorer of two tries, and putting pace on everything Racing did. His support player was worthy of Sean Edwards in his pomp at Wigan, if your memory goes back that far (mine does). The opening try, after 70 seconds, is a masterclass of the ‘general movement’ game. Go forward, ball carrier attracts two defenders, pass out of contact, flood the support channel, go forward, support the ball carrier…try. Fijian centre Vinaya Habosi isn’t seeking contact. His thoughts are on attracting defenders, staying on his feet and getting the ball away to a teammate.
For Carbonneau’s second try, prop Demba Bamba avoids contact as he goes forward. He is conspicuously concerned with going forward, staying on his feet and making the ball available to his support, which happens to be Carbonneau, again. Interestingly, in a post match interview on Canal +, Carbonneau said ‘J’ai anticipé un peu les cours de mes joueurs’. That sounds to me like ‘I try to predict/anticipate where my teammates will go’. La lecture du jeu (read the game) anybody?
The real mystery for me is why Pau came to this game with such a conservative game plan. As referenced here before, they have a backline to die for, and they simply do not use it. Please don’t give me any of your ‘earn the right to go wide’ nonsense. What does that expression even mean? They do not play the expansive game they should be playing, and they select a scrum half who regularly takes play back where it has just come from, thus making life easier for the defence. The ‘general movement’ concept of playing in the same direction is specifically intended to stretch defences, not to make their lives easier. We are seeking to create ‘un surnombre’ (literally ‘an excess’), and running back into defenders won’t do that. Pau will come again, and be stronger for Saturday’s loss, but this correspondent would love to see them use the talent at their disposal.
Two semi-finals to come. Friday night is Toulouse versus Racing. Patrice Collazo, head coach of Racing, is of course a former Toulouse player, not that the match needs any more spice. Saturday sees Montpellier versus Stade Francais. A couple of days to think about ‘predictions’!