Perpignan can breathe a real sigh of relief: the city of the eastern Pyrenees saved its place in the Top 14 by dominating Mont-de-Marsan in the play-off for the Elite of French rugby.
USAP won (41-16) after a balanced half-time.
But the Landais cracked in the second period.
The logic in any case was for once respected on Sunday in the barrage of accession to the Top 14 with the maintenance in the elite of Perpignan thanks to its large victory at Mont-de-Marsan (41-16), first of the regular phase of Pro D2, who tied the game one half before giving up.
No more elevator: immediately relegated in 2019 after its last promotion to the Top 14, Usap this time managed to stay there.
This is the first time since the introduction of the accession barrage four years ago that the elite club has gotten the better of the lower echelon.
End of game 🥰🫶🏼 pic.twitter.com/cMCS6b0FQz
— USAP (@usap_officiel) June 12, 2022
Stade Montois, already heavily beaten by Bayonne last week in the Pro D2 final (49-20), stalled at the end after having had a superb season.
The Landais will have lost only one match there in their André-et-Guy-Boniface stadium: the last, the most important, the one that would have allowed them to find the first level of French rugby, which they left in 2013.
Many Catalan supporters, draped in blood and gold, took over their enclosure on Sunday, curiously not quite full despite the stakes.
It did not disturb the Montois, who were on par with their opponent throughout a very rhythmic first half despite the heat (16-16).
A try from the back Yoann Laousse-Azpiazu, on a kick to follow, rewarded their permanent commitment in all areas of play.
Despite the return of Alexandre De Nardi, not far from preventing him from flattening, Melvyn Jaminet responded in the same style to leave his team in the game despite his big difficulties in the scrum.
For his last match at Usap before joining Toulouse, the international back, back from injury, experienced a lot of waste, but he alone scored 26 points, 8 out of 9 success against the poles.
The land invaded
Perpignan gradually took the upper hand in the second half, first thanks to his boot then to a try, in numerical superiority, of the Argentinian international center Jeronimo De la Fuente who put a blow to the morale of the Landais (29-16 , 56th).
The yellow card, for a high tackle, from second row Shaun Eru did not reverse the trend.
The Catalans killed all suspense with a superb collective movement concluded by Lucas Dubois, before Tristan Tedder made the score even heavier.
A logical result - greeted by an invasion of the pitch by Sang et Or supporters, although outside - as Usap has shown this season that it has its place in the Top 14, with prestigious victories in its Aimé stadium - Giral against Toulouse, La Rochelle or Bordeaux-Bègles last week.
The beautiful season of Stade Montois, crowned French champion in 1963, will have revived some memories for those nostalgic for the rugby of yesteryear.
The 12th budget of Pro D2 (out of 16) evolved without complex beyond its means, with 23 victories in 30 matches, but after the defeat of La Rochelle the day before in Toulouse in the play-off of the Top 14, it was decidedly not not the Yellow and Black weekend.
