Oyonnax have to keep on believing
OYONNAX manager Joe El-Abd promised last week that his side would ‘fight to the end’ following their so-near-sofar 35-39 home defeat against fellow Top 14 lowlanders Montpellier. “We have reason to believe,” he said. “We saw a team that fought right to the end in a very tough match from the start. We never gave up and now, with nine matches left, we’ve got to believe.
“We know it’s going to be harder after this game, but we’re fighting right to the end and we’re not giving up. We have to keep working and fighting for our fans.”
Six domestic defeats in a row coming into the weekend – Oyonnax’s only victory in 2024 was against Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup – had left El-Abd’s side bottom of the table, eight points adrift of 13th-placed Perpignan coming into this weekend.
It is unfortunate that Oyonnax have given full value for money in their difficult promotion season. They’ve beaten Clermont, Lyon, Montpellier, La Rochelle, and Pau. Few teams, meanwhile, score 34 points at Toulouse, a fact that visibly annoyed the Toulouse coach Ugo Mola at the time, despite the fact his side had scored over 60 in the same match. He urged his players to improve defensively.
This weekend, El-Abd, right, took his side to Clermont, the teetering stronghold of his former boss Christophe Urios. The Jaunards had lost three in a row, with their last loss at La Rochelle prompting the manager to question his players’ mentality.
It was always going to be a nervy match. And, in filthy, rain-sodden conditions at Stade Marcel Michelin, the two sides played out a filthy, rain-sodden and tryless 15-15 draw – a result that does neither side much in the way of favours as the season edges to a close. But at least it allows Oyonnax and El-Abd to keep on believing. They have eight matches left, including an absolutely vital outing at Stade Charles Mathon against 13thplaced Perpignan when the Top 14 returns in two weeks. That match will go a long way to deciding Oyonnax’s future.
Three wins on the bounce – and four in their last five coming into the weekend – have seen Montpellier pull themselves out of the relegation places. There’s no great secret to the 2022 champions’ turnaround in fortunes, according to new attack coach Vincent Etcheto, beyond helping the players regain trust in themselves and a step away from over-reliance on a dispossession gameplan.
In similar dreadful conditions to those endured by players and fans 340 kilometres or so north in Clermont, Montpellier just about outplayed an internationals-stripped Bordeaux at the GGL Stadium to win 10-3. It was, undeniably, an it’ll do, take-the-points win. But Patrice Collazo’s 12th-placed side will be happy enough with four more points in their quest for safety.
Stade Francais, with habitual back row Sekou Macalou on the wing for just the third time in his career, lost for the first time since their 20-24 Champions Cup defeat against Stormers back in January, coming a cropper against La Rochelle at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
Dillyn Lleyds scored twice in the first half – his opener coming with just three minutes on the clock – as Ronan O’Gara’s side doubled down on their 42-3 hammering of Clermont weekend with a 23-3 bonus-point victory. They were aided and abetted by their ill-disciplined visitors, who conceded well over a dozen penalties, and spent 20 minutes at a numerical disadvantage.
Bayonne’s inability to win on the road came back to haunt them in an 11-try, 82-point thriller at Pau. Mateo Carreras, in his first match for the Basque side following his switch from Newcastle, scored the final try of the match with the clock in the red to give the visitors a losing bonus point. Camille Lopez fired over the conversion from out wide to take the final score to 42-40.
Here’s a fact to make you spit coffee into your Sunday cornflakes: at the time of writing, Castres – one-dimensional, boring, Castres – have the second-best attack in the Top 14 this season. Only Toulouse have scored more points.
Their adventure has been transformed by attack coach David Darricarrerre and a backline featuring Vilimoni Botitu, Adrea Cocagi, Pierre Popelin, Louis Le Brun, Nathaniel Hulleu and Josaia Raisuqe. Rumours, however, surfaced in the French media that will concern fans – Darricarrerre is believed to be about to swap Castres for Brive, to work under former boss Pierre-Henry Broncan, at the end of the season.
Not that there was much in the way of Castres’ attacking ambition on show at Lyon – a side that have now won their last six at home.
Fabien Gengenbacher’s struggling side picked up a late bonus point en route to a 34-19 win that maintained a relatively safe dislast tance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Relegation-threatened Perpignan kept pace with Montpellier and Lyon, and increased their lead over basement side Oyonnax with a 27-17 win over Toulouse at Stade Aime Giral.
The visitors’ head coach Mola, however, will be happy enough with his squad’s performances during the Six Nations window, especially with Romain Ntamack back in group training, and Antoine Dupont expected to return in time for their next match, away at Bordeaux in two weeks.
The end of the Six Nations cannot come fast enough for Stuart Lancaster’s Racing 92, who have failed to pick up a single point in the Top 14 during the international period and have slipped out of the play-off places.
They entertain Toulon, who have had more than a few problems of their own in recent weeks, at La Defense Arena this evening.
“La Rochelle make it two big wins in a row as they enjoy a bonus-point win over Stade”