Mistreated at the start of the match, the Parisians took advantage of the downturn in Lyon to take control and win (23-18) in a match so important for their future.
The red zone is moving away and they can now approach the meetings, like the next one in Pau on Saturday, a little more calmly.
What you must remember
Rugby is first and foremost a matter of appetite. And, luck for the Stade Français, the LOU was hungry only a quarter of an hour in the first half, before waking up too late in the second half. This is not, of course, enough to win a match, especially when the host club is playing its game. For fifteen minutes, the players of Pierre Mignoni flew over the debates, monopolizing the ball and manhandling a Parisian defense in apnea. Two penalties from the opener Léo Berdeu (4th, 12th) rewarded this domination which announced a one-sided meeting.
Then the curtain fell on one side of the field. The Stade Français, which until then confined itself to bombarding its opponent with incessant candles, its only weapon, apparently, at its disposal, has gradually changed its tune. Martyring their apathetic rival in closed melee, Gonzalo Quesada's men began to send ammunition to the rear. The consequences were direct. After the reduction of the score on a penalty from the opener Joris Segonds (3-6, 21st), the back Kylan Hamdaoui slalomed quietly in the middle of the Lyon defense where his interior hooks were all the rage (10-6, 29th) . A penalty from Segonds (13-6, 36th) then a try from Coville on a breakthrough from Macalou, who allowed himself a pass to his scrum half on the end line (20-6, 38th),returned the two teams to the locker room with the feeling of a cause heard.
After the break, reassembled by the muscular speech of their manager, the Lyonnais put more intensity in their intentions.
Result: a third-line Cretin try in the winger position (49th), followed by another, a little happy, hooker Charcosset (58th, 23-18).
The end of the match was tense, but the Parisians held on, saving such a precious success.
The player
Sekou Macalou (Stade Français)
Before joining Marcoussis, this Sunday, to participate in the gathering of the Blues for the November tour, the Parisian third line has yet proven the extent of his talent.
Real poison in defense where he thwarted the rare Lyon sequences, he weighed under the candles and, ball in hand, it is difficult to stop, as on the test he gives to Coville (38th).
The number
3
This third success in a row after the victories against Clermont and Perpignan allows the Parisians to breathe new life.
The specter of relegation seems to be receding for good.