La Rochelle shines, Lyon bows
La Rochelle kicked off the defense of their Champions Cup title with an attacking display against Northampton Saints (46-12). Lyon, for its part, returned from its trip to South Africa with a defeat against the Bulls (42-36) but above all two bonus points.
La Rochelle 46-12 Northampton Saints
The Rochelais are determined to defend their title. For their debut in the Champions Cup, Ronan O’Gara’s players delighted their audience with a very clear success against Northampton Saints. It must be said that the English club absolutely did not see the light in the first period on the watered lawn of the Stade Marcel-Deflandre. It only took Brice Dulin three minutes to set the tone. Following a touch, the Maritimes sent the game. Taking advantage of a clumsiness from Tom James on a kick game for himself, the back from La Rochelle was able to flatten without difficulty. After missing the conversion, Antoine Hastoy added six points on the weakness of the first quarter of an hour. Pierre Bourgarit then took advantage of a carried ball to add to the bill before Pierre Boudehent does not provide the offensive bonus from the 26th minute, making his burst of speed speak to trap the English defense. For a crunch on Fin Smith, Jonathan Danty received a yellow card half an hour into the game, as did Aaron Hinkley, who paid for the accumulation of faults on the part of the Saints. Just before the break, Dillyn Leyds went there from his trial to the conclusion of an action initiated by a charge from Grégory Alldritt. The La Rochelle captain joined the parade as soon as they returned to the pitch, piercing the opposing defensive curtain as they exited the ruck. In the process, it was Ulupano Seuteni who went there with his test at the conclusion of an action while in velocity. With a 46-point lead, the Maritimes lost ground and the yellow card for Thomas Lavault at the start of the last quarter of an hour opened a few doors. James Ramm in a corner after a scrum then Matt Proctor full ax softened Northampton’s defeat. Thanks to this great success (46-12), La Rochelle takes a date in this Champions Cup.
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At the end of a crazy match, LOU Rugby lost but still brought back the offensive (4 tries) and defensive (- 7pts difference) bonuses from this match in Pretoria!#LaForceduLOU#The pack pic.twitter.com/E8yH0YMwLR
— LOU Rugby (@LeLOURugby) December 10, 2022
Bulls 42-36 Lyon
Lyon did not return empty-handed from South Africa. First French club to travel to the Southern Hemisphere as part of the Champions Cup, the LOU could believe in victory against the Bulls but a missed match start was fatal. On the lawn of Pretoria, we only saw the Bulls during the first half hour. Sibongile Novuka opened hostilities after three minutes with a solo try before Bernard van der Linde pushed the Rhodaniens down before the end of the first ten minutes. The Bulls scrum half went there from his try in the 20th minute by slipping away from the Lyon defense on the way out of the ruck. The South African franchise needed just 23 minutes to secure the attacking bonus thanks to Nizaam Carr, who charged the defense of LOU after a scrum within 22 meters of the French club. Lyon’s reply came shortly before the half-hour mark. After a ball carried, Arno Botha was able to flatten in force and give Xavier Garbajosa a smile. Just before the break, Liam Coltman applied the same recipe, going on trial following a carried ball set up on a touch. Barely the two teams back on the lawn that Stravino Jacobs had fun with the defense of Lyon to flatten the fifth try of his formation. That’s when the Bulls kind of got out of the game and let the LOU get back into it. Ethan Dumortier took advantage of the dismissal to surprise the South Africans then Arno Botha ensured the offensive bonus of the French club by following a kicking game for himself. On the hour mark, a penalty from Léo Berdeu put Lyon back on the defensive bonus track. The end of the match saw the two teams go blow for blow with Chris Smith for the Bulls then Kyle Godwin for the LOU who scored a try. The Lyonnais pushed to the end to snatch victory but without success. Despite this defeat (42-36), Lyon made a great deal by taking the two bonus points.