TOPS

A positive return for Oscar Jegou

He was one of the attractions of this meeting between Stade Rochelais and Stade Français (35-18). Four months after the start of the Mendoza affairOscar Jegou made his return to Top 14 football with La Rochelle. Applauded by his fans when the teams were announced, he delivered a good performance. While one might have expected him to have some physical difficulties following a truncated preparation period, he was there from the first minute to the last. In addition to his 100% in the tackle (12/12), he was decisive in Teddy Thomas’ try, slipping the ball to Leyds for the penultimate pass, and above all scored the bonus-point try on the hour mark. All this before seeing his name chanted by Marcel-Deflandre. The 21-year-old responded with a heartfelt finger…

“It’s great for everyone, especially the fans, to see Oscar perform like that. This is Vincent Merling and Pierre Venayre (President and General Manager of Stade Rochelais, Editor’s note) who decided that it was time for him to play. I didn’t have an opinion because these things are dictated above me. After that, it was obvious to start him because he’s a top-class player.“commented Ronan O’Gara after the match on Canal +.

Skelton can do anything

We already knew him for his power, his disconcerting ball-in-hand technique or his ability to annihilate opposing mauls… But on Saturday evening, we discovered a new talent: his ability to finish off actions like a winger. Served by a foot pass from Dulin along the touchline, the giant Australian second-liner accelerated before finishing like a bulldozer over two helpless Parisian defenders. Despite a slight scare to his knee, he held on until the 73rd minute, also achieving 100% on his tackles (10/10).

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Top 14: La Rochelle bounce back in style against Stade français

Carbonel limits the damage

If Stade Français were in the lead at the break, it was largely thanks to their opener, who was unflappable in front of the posts with a 6/6 score. Although he didn’t shine with his back line, Louis Carbonel applied his staff’s game plan perfectly, occupying the field largely in Stade Français’ favor in the first half before the tide turned completely in their favor.

FLOPS

Stade Français failed to adapt

The game plan was the right one. With the support of the wind, Stade Français dominated proceedings in the first half with a false rhythm that suited them perfectly until La Rochelle began to play. Confined to trying to occupy the pitch, even against the wind, the Parisians were quickly suffocated in their own half by La Rochelle’s pressure. Everything changed at half-time and Sekou Macalou’s team-mates never managed to reverse the trend, except in the last five minutes, when the score was already settled. All too late.

A slow, slow pace

The Stade Français’ game plan also reflected this, but this Saturday evening’s encounter was bored for a long time. The first half was extremely poor, with both teams scoring on the fingers of one hand. Teddy Thomas’s try aside, the minutes were long, as evidenced by the Marcel Deflandre stadium, which failed to catch fire due to a lack of play. Although there was some improvement in the second half, with a few sparks lit up by the Rochelais, we were still hoping for a different spectacle.