Friendlies: Montauban concede 63 points, USAP win at the buzzer

Friday night was the busiest of the summer, with six pre-season games from Nationale up to the Top 14. It produced a hammering, a win at the buzzer, a Landes derby that opened up after the break and a serious injury scare.

Biarritz – USAP: Reece scores, Aucagne settles it

It took until the final minute to separate the two neighbours. Trailing 7-14 at the break after tries from Sevu Reece (12th minute) and Noé Della Schiava (40+3), Biarritz fought back through Hiriart-Urruty (51st) and then Elissondo (77th), who gathered a kick pass from Dolhagaray. BO even won a penalty to take the lead before the hooter but opted for the lineout, which came to nothing. Straight after, USAP made the opposite call and Antoine Aucagne slotted the three points (21-24), much to the dismay of Basque director of rugby Nicolas Nadau.

The two men of the night come with telling numbers. Sevu Reece, on the scoresheet on his debut in the blood and gold, has 124 tries in 178 professional games, one every 1.4 games. Aucagne has scored 515 career points, including 374 in four Pro D2 seasons at Aurillac and a peak of 247 in 2023-2024 alone.

Laurent Labit used 35 players, including nine new signings, and handed Luke McGrath the scrum-half role; he was shown a yellow card in the 24th minute. Next up is Bath on 27 August. BO travel to Bayonne on 20 August.

Aurillac – Montauban: 63-19, nine tries conceded

This was the heaviest result of the night. Relegated from the Top 14, Montauban won the first third 12-7 before collapsing: 12-42 after the second, 19-63 at the end of the third. Nine tries conceded, five of them in the middle third alone, despite a look at 38 players.

Roméo Gontineac’s side, by contrast, ended their pre-season in style. Sébastien Tillous-Borde made no secret of his anger. USM travel to Rodez to face Castres on Thursday 20 August before starting the league campaign at Nevers.

Agen – Colomiers: two from two, but worry over Duputs

With the temperature at 37 degrees at kick-off in Valence-d’Agen, SU Agen beat Colomiers 37-21 with five tries, a week after their 45-35 win at Soyaux-Angoulême. At the same stage last year, it had gone the other way: Colomiers came back to beat Agen 43-30 with a 29-0 run in the last thirty minutes.

The evening still left a bitter taste. Back-row forward Arnaud Duputs, who has suffered repeated concussions, took another blow to the head and left the pitch before the end, without rejoining his team-mates. Mauricio Reggiardo and Guillaume Jan declined to comment straight after the game. “He’s a lad who means a lot to the club, and he’d actually played well. I’m sad and disappointed for him, of course,” said president Jean-François Fonteneau.

Dax – Stade Montois: the derby opened up after the break

In front of 8,000 fans at Maurice-Boyau, in the middle of the feria, the two Landes sides went in level at half-time, with a try apiece from Oltmann and Van Jaarsfeld. After the restart, Vincent Etcheto’s men ran in three tries through Fourquet, Couget and Daguerre, the last after a counter-attack from their own in-goal, before prop Laboille added to the tally. Dachary scored a consolation try for Mont-de-Marsan (35-14).

The result will not go in the record books, but it extends a trend: across the 41 official derbies between the first teams, Dax lead 21 wins to 19 with one draw, and have now won six of their last ten meetings.

Grenoble – Valence-Romans: farewell to Lesdiguières

In their last game at the historic ground before it is turned into a training centre, FCG won 26-20. Mathis Baret opened the scoring just before the quarter-hour, before the Drôme side scored three tries in ten minutes, including one from their marquee signing Marco Tauleigne, with a man advantage. Sascha Mistrulli and Raffaele Costa Storti brought Grenoble back, an Adrien Martin penalty put VRDR back in front, and it was Eddie Sawailau, a former Valence-Romans player, who won it for the Isère side.

Valence-Romans, who have entered a new era since Fabien Fortassin left for Brive, play their final pre-season game on Thursday against Oyonnax, in Vienne.

Nevers – Oyonnax: ten penalties and a slump

Vasil Lobzhanidze had put Oyonnax ahead as early as the 4th minute. But after conceding ten penalties in the first half alone, Fabien Cibray’s men faded after the break and lost 41-21. Oyonnax, semi-finalists in May, have only five weeks of pre-season in their legs, compared with seven or eight for most of their rivals.

What comes next

Pre-season resumes on Wednesday 19 August with Soyaux-Angoulême – Provence Rugby, then picks up pace: Bayonne – Biarritz, Montauban – Castres and Valence-Romans – Oyonnax on the 20th, Racing 92 – Brive in Objat, Vannes – Pau in Guingamp and La Rochelle – Bordeaux-Bègles on the 21st.

For the leagues, the countdown is shorter than it looks: Nationale resumes on 21 August, Pro D2 on the 27th with Provence Rugby – Agen, and the Top 14 on 4 September with Montpellier – Pau.