A challenge, facing an ambitious opponent who was not going to let any mistakes go by.
Last April, Colomiers left Pré-Fleuri with symptoms similar to a good old hangover. Today the stars aligned for a revenge, which a submerged USON would have gladly done without (28 to 3), on the occasion of the fifteenth day, the last of the first leg.
This Friday, January 5, Pro D2 returned after a three-week break. Colomiers rugby players welcomed Nevers, as part of the 15th day.
The Columérins were beaten in their last meeting, 25-20 at Mont-de-Marsan. Results during the last 4 meetings: 3 defeats for only one victory (15-9 at home against Brive on December 7). Consequence: the Haut-Garonnais slowly slipped in the ranking and were in 9th place (30 points) at the start of this 15th day.
The Neversois were 4th. And were at the heart of a virtuous series of two successes in a row, recorded before the truce against Mont-de-Marsan (25-16) and Grenoble (37-27).
Colomiers is starting 2024 better than it finished 2023. The Columérins, never really worried by Nevers, are relaunching themselves in the race for the top 6 thanks to this victory.
For this last match of the first leg, the Columérins started the match better, scoring on their first foray into the Nevers 22 thanks to the foot of Thomas Girard. Carried in the rain by its audience, Colomiers increased the intensity and limited the attack of Nevers, the best in Pro D2, thanks to a solid zone defense.
Symbol of this offensive inefficiency, on a scrum 5 meters away which occurred after Aldric Lescure’s yellow card, Vincent Pinto managed to intercept the ball and allowed Colomiers to advance 5 meters from the in-goal. This counter-attack, outnumbered, allowed Colomiers to score three new points.
At the break, Colomiers’ defensive mastery failed Nevers so much that the 4th in the Pro D2 rankings did not score a single point, 14 to 0.
The Colomiers defense which knows when to make the right mistakes, but still manages to score its first points thanks to Yohan Le Bourhis who came to respond to the three points scored by Thomas Girard five minutes after returning from the locker room.
Nevers, panicked on every possession and never found the solution, but managed to prevent Colomiers from winning the offensive bonus, at least until the siren.
This victory (28 to 3) allows Julien Sarraute’s men to put an end to their bad series of three defeats in the last four matches and to stop the good momentum of the Nivernais who had only lost twice in their seven last meetings.
The Columérins will host Béziers while Nevers will host Olympic Biarritz at the Pré Fleuri stadium on the next day, January 11.
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