This may be the first in our series of “What We Learnt” in Pro D2 for AllThingsRugby, but there was nothing new about Pro D2’s ability to provide some mind boggling results. Only a fool reads too much into one individual round of France’s second-tier competition, but here goes…
This may be the first in our series of “What We Learnt” in Pro D2 for AllThingsRugby, but there was nothing new about Pro D2’s ability to provide some mind boggling results. Only a fool reads too much into one individual round of France’s second-tier competition, but here goes…
It’s Vannes, and then the rest
One thing that seems to have been evident for a number of weeks now is that Vannes are the team to beat. What became apparent this week was how far ahead of the pack they are. In a very positive sign for the league as a whole, the Bretons sent a strong side down to the Toulouse suburbs to take on league leaders Colomiers.
What followed was a proper top-of-the-table tussle worthy of the Friday primetime billing, with both sides at full clip and trading blows in a muscular first half. Vannes reverted to their more pragmatic (i.e. forwards and kicking based) game plan, with scrum half Michael Ruru making the difference with a couple of signature snipes from short range. His teammates will be pleased he scored, as Ben Stevenson revealed in an interview on our podcast a couple of weeks ago that this is a hand Ruru plays a touch too frequently…
However, most impressively, Vannes shut out Colomiers for the entirety of the second half. No mean feat given the home side’s reputation for thrilling attacking rugby. Having usurped Colomiers at the top of the table, it could be a while til we see another side in pole position.
Stade Michel Bendichou
Referee: Evan UrruzmendiSAXV unearth more young gems
Perhaps the most eyecatching result of the round was Soyaux Angoul?me’s victory away at Brive. Despite being the best away side in the league last year, SAXV came into this having scored a meagre 19 points from their previous three away games. Brive were comfortable favourites, and astonishingly, even a 20 point victory was odds on with some bookmakers.
But Pro D2 did its thing and we got a result that defied logic. SAXV have developed a reputation as a side brimming with young talent, but the presence of veteran Ben Botica is often required to play their best rugby. Botica’s presence looked even more necessary with a 20 year old debutant starting at scrum half in Baptiste Escoffre, and, in Paul Bergès, another 20 year old debutant covering half-back on a 6-2 bench.
As it happened, Botica had to be replaced by Bergès after 22mins (not before he had helped set up a try for Escoffre) and the two youngsters played the best part of an hour overturning a 13-10 deficit and steering SAXV to victory, keeping Brive pointless in the second half.
Bergès was signed from Toulouse over the summer, while Escoffre was brought in from Pau. The latter has already been handed the moniker ‘Baby Dupont’ and not just because of his playing style: his first club was Magnoac, whose most famous alumni is - well you can probably guess…
Run, Kick, and be Meret
Valence Romans continued their fantastic start to the season with a romp of Agen at the Stade Georges Pompidou, taking them to 3rd in the table. When a heavily ‘rotated’ (i.e. understrength) Agen side took the lead within the first minute, it looked like a shock was on the cards. But it was largely one-way traffic from there.
Valence Romans are great to watch at the moment, chucking it around at will, with their main main Lucas Meret showing there is plenty more to his game than his unerring goal kicking. There is nothing extraordinary about try scoring hookers these days, but Dorian Marco-Pena’s hattrick - taking him to six tries for the season - shows how well the Valence forward pack is going too.
Nevers unstoppable at home
Just below Valence-Romans sit Nevers in 4th, another side that would appear to be outperforming many people’s pre-season expectations. As the only side to have played five home games so far, Nevers’ league position is perhaps slightly inflated. But it's not just the number of games that stands out about Nevers’ home record.
They have amassed try bonus points in four out of the five games, and they are averaging a league-high 43 points per game at home, thanks to 32 tries at an average of 6.4 tries per game. The next highest for a home side is Béziers with 5.2 per game.
Nevers do have the 4th highest operating budget in the league, and they view themselves as genuine challengers for promotion. The next few rounds should reveal whether they are or not: they travel to ‘giant killers’ Mont-de-Marsan - whose only two wins have been at home to Vannes and Grenoble - before they host Vannes at the Stade du Pré Fleuri in round 10, rounding out this block of fixtures with an away trip to Colomiers.
| # | Team | PL | W | L | D | PD | BP | PTS | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  RC Vannes | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 80 | 4 | 30 | W W W W W |
| 2 |  Colomiers Rugby | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 3 | 27 | L W W W W |
| 3 |  Valence Romans Drôme | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 26 | W W W L W |
| 4 |  USON Nevers | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 5 | 25 | W L W W L |
| 5 |  SU Agen | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 23 | L W L W W |
| 6 |  Provence Rugby | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 21 | L W W W L |
| 7 |  CA Brive | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 20 | L L W W L |
| 8 |  FC Grenoble Rugby | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 4 | 20 | W L L L W |
| 9 |  Stade Aurillacois | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -21 | 3 | 19 | L W W L L |
| 10 |  US Oyonnax | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 16 | W L L W L |
| 11 |  Biarritz Olympique | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -33 | 3 | 16 | W W L L W |
| 12 |  AS Béziers Hérault | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | -15 | 3 | 15 | L L W L W |
| 13 |  Soyaux-Angoulême XV | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | -79 | 1 | 13 | W L L L L |
| 14 |  US Carcassonnaise XV | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | -86 | 2 | 10 | L L L W L |
| 15 |  Stade Montois | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | -119 | 1 | 09 | L W L L L |
| 16 |  US Dax | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | -25 | 4 | 07 | W L L L W |
Hope for Dax
Despite a thumping victory at home Béziers, Dax still sit bottom of the pile on 7 points thanks to their pre-season penalty of -5 points due to financial irregularities last season. The 12 points they have now gained, however, is more than Carcassonne and Mont-de-Marsan. The 40 points and five tries scored are an encouraging sign for Dax, while the margin of victory suggests that the relegation battle could involve a few more teams than previously thought. Béziers, after parting company with coaching staff Rory Teague and Johnny Howard this week, slipped to 12th after the defeat, and will now be looking over their shoulder rather than looking upwards.
Pro D2 continues this Thursday (30 October) with Soyaux Angouleme v Grenoble, available to UK & Ireland viewers for free via FRUK Rugby on YouTube.