Agde without genius, but with the bonus point

L’ouvreur Abela ouvre pour le centre sud-africain Twum Boafo, sur le dernier essai du ROA. MIDI LIBRE – OLIVIER RAYNAUD

Les Maritimes ont renoué avec la victoire après deux défaites consécutives à Gruissan et Châteaurenard, même si tout ne fut pas parfait, loin de là.

RO AGDE 28
FAT 15
Michel-Millet Stadium.
Half-time: 14-9.
For Agde : 3 tries Farret (29th), Escalle (50th), Barthez (71st) ; three penalties (8th, 21st, 40 + 1) and two Barthez transformations.
For Grasse: 5 penalties (8th, 26th, 37th, 54th, 61st) Barron.
Yellow card in Agde: Mendes (77th).
Yellow cards in Grasse: Haupt (20th), Cazals (71st).
AGDE : Barthez – Gayé, Touizni, Twum-Boafo – Escalle – (o) Abella, (m) Caussé – Gaures, Farret, Chabaud – Thibault Aris, Josian Aris – Garrigues, Ferret, Vaysset.
Substitutes: Delmas, Delhoume, Collin, Roqueblave, Stankovic, Mendes, Rezkallah

Forward coach of RO Agde, Romain Brison had warned his players of being too easy when it came time to welcome Grasse, dead last in the championship and condemned to the descent. Good luck to him, because the Maritimes did not make their task easy on Sunday on their Michel-Millet lawn which they finally found, after two consecutive defeats away, at Gruissan (31-3) and Châteaurenard (24-20).

Too many blunders in the 1st period

In front of sections that sounded hollow, RO Agde returned to victory, which is a first positive point. He also pocketed a welcome offensive bonus thanks to three tries scored, but nothing was really easy during this meeting which we will describe as a replay.

Because by wanting to pour too much into an all-out offensive game, the Héraultais gradually burned their wings. Delays in offensive support, in defensive rucks, clumsiness galore… the first period was a long thought for the meager public, accustomed to better from their protégés.

18 points for Barthez

A first number on the right side of N°8 Paul Farret at the half-hour mark nevertheless allowed the Yellow and Blue to make the break (11-6), before the restless Escalle came seal a more comfortable lead after returning from the locker room (50th) on a well-made cross. And if the Riviera striker Barron took it upon himself to punish the Agathois faults with his precise boot, the ROA, without genius but with a more extensive bench, took definitive shelter in the last ten minutes on a try at the end line of the inevitable Pierre Barthez, author of 18 points.

I subscribe to read more