Some matches are decided over a half; this one was decided in ten minutes. Between the 19th and the 29th, Colomiers conceded three tries and handed the match to Biarritz.

Three tries during the sin-bin

Paolo Parpagiola was sent to the sin-bin in the 19th minute. At that point Colomiers trailed 7-3, just four points behind. By the time their back-rower returned, the score was 26-6.

In that spell, Biarritz scored three tries, through Iban Hiriart-Urruty in the 20th minute, Duncan Paia’aua in the 27th and Andréa Sacco in the 29th. That made 19 points in ten minutes, against three for Colomiers, a Théo Giral penalty.

That was more or less the final margin: Biarritz won by eighteen points.

Dolhagaray, thirteen points

Thomas Dolhagaray scored the try in the 50th minute, Biarritz’s fourth, and kicked four conversions. Thirteen points on the night.

Yet the fly-half has played only two of the three rounds, missing the trip to Oyonnax. He still has 27 points since the start of the season, which puts him among the leading scorers in the league.

Mosese Dawai added the fifth try in the 77th minute, the one that secured the bonus point.

Colomiers only scored at the end of each half

Colomiers’ twenty points came from two late-half spells: Thomas Larrieu’s try in the 34th minute and Theo Pedemons’ in the 79th, both converted by Thibault Debaes, who came on in the 26th minute to replace Giral.

The rest of the time, nothing. Colomiers also picked up a second yellow card, for Pierre-Emmanuel Pacheco in the 64th minute.

Three defeats in three rounds

Colomiers remain the only club in the league without a win: beaten at Soyaux-Angoulême (26-38), at home by Provence Rugby (13-18), and then at Aguiléra. One point on the table, the losing bonus point they snatched against Provence.

The try count tells the same story: seven scored, twelve conceded.

Biarritz, by contrast, go clear at the top with ten points. Fourteen tries in three matches, level with Aurillac, and two try bonus points from three games. Their only slip remains the defeat at Oyonnax (25-47), the round Dolhagaray missed.