It may seem paradoxical, but even after conceding three tries, the Périgourdins built their victory thanks to a strong defense against Chambéry on Saturday, February 21. The Savoyards imposed long sequences in front of the try line, eventually breaking the Capistes twice, one of which was while they were a man down, on either side of halftime. A tricky bounce of the ball deceived Jaun Kotze and Vincent Fouillade to give Bonnet the first Chambéry try early in the match. “We made several individual errors that allowed our opponent to tie the score,” regretted Périgourdin manager Didier Casadéï.
Apart from these three strokes of misfortune, the sky and white team pushed back Chambéry. “It’s a team that plays a lot, is strong in the set-piece. We talked a lot about defense this week. I have sore shoulders, everywhere,” smiled captain Afa Amosa as he returned to the locker rooms.
For a first high-level half an hour, the visitors seemed lost on the field, retreating with each impact, against Capistes who only conceded their first penalty in the 32nd minute. “The defense was magnificent,” rejoiced the technician.
They also shut down the outside runners to prevent speedy Savoyards from developing their play, such as center Amigorena. And it paid off.
A home playoff?
“We managed to score at an important moment in the match and, with courage, the team managed to hold on,” summarized Casadéï. And they managed to score 30 points against the best defense in the pool.
With close calls on three tries, the backs still had opportunities, with Tim Giresse, Vincent Fouillade, and Thibault Dulucq successively being caught just in time by the Savoyard rearguard.
With this 10th victory in as many home matches (13th overall), the Périgourdins can consider that qualification is secured, barring a catastrophe.
