Round 3 of Nationale confirmed the pecking order at the top of the table and produced the first draw of the season. Above all, it extended a Carcassonne run that does not show up in the final scores.
Thirty-one points conceded, all before the break
Carcassonne beat Rouen 28-5 on Friday. Rouen’s five points came in the first half. The same was true of Albi’s fourteen points in Round 1, and US Bressane’s twelve in Round 2.
In three matches, the Aude side have conceded thirty-one points. The match event log places every one of them before the fortieth minute. After the break, their record is spotless: zero against Albi, zero at Bourg-en-Bresse, zero against Rouen.
Their own scoring is perfectly balanced: forty-eight points in the first half, forty-eight in the second.
The only club of the fourteen in this position
No other team in the league has this profile. The closest is Mont-de-Marsan, with sixteen points conceded after the break. Next come Périgueux and Albi, on twenty-nine and thirty.
At the other end, Bourgoin have conceded twenty-five points in first halves and forty-eight in second halves, and US Bressane forty-nine after the break.
Carcassonne are also the only team to have taken the attacking bonus point every time out, three times in three matches, the maximum possible at this stage. Yannick Osmond summed up the evening against Rouen in measured terms: “Very happy, not with the performance but with the result.” Nine of the fifteen starters on Friday were not at the club last season.
The first draw of the season at Bourgoin
Bourgoin and Chambéry finished 27-27, the first draw of the campaign in twenty-one matches played.
Elsewhere, Mont-de-Marsan recorded the biggest margin of the round, beating US Bressane 42-7, with braces from Van Jaarsveld and Godfrey. Massy won 42-19 at Suresnes and remain unbeaten. Albi won 29-13 at Vienne, and Périgueux claimed their first win of the season at Rennes, 24-17, after two defeats.
Orléans beat Marcq-en-Baroeul 26-20. The northern side are now the only team, along with US Bressane, yet to win.
The table after three rounds
| Club | Pts | P | W | D | L | For | Against | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carcassonne | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 31 |
| 2 | Massy | 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 56 |
| 3 | Mont-de-Marsan | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 106 | 28 |
| 4 | Albi | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 62 |
| 5 | Orléans | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 85 |
| 6 | Suresnes | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 69 |
| 7 | Chambéry | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 106 | 86 |
| 8 | Rennes | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 75 |
| 9 | Bourgoin | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 69 | 73 |
| 10 | Rouen | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 80 |
| 11 | Périgueux | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 68 | 93 |
| 12 | Vienne | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 97 |
| 13 | Marcq-en-Baroeul | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 74 |
| 14 | US Bressane | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 105 |
The federation’s points system gives each club two starting points, included in this table, then four points for a win, two for a draw, an attacking bonus point, and a defensive bonus point for a defeat by seven points or fewer.
Mont-de-Marsan still have the league’s best attack and best defence, with 106 points scored and 28 conceded, but their defeat at Albi in Round 2 leaves them four points behind the leaders.
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