No points scored the week before, twenty-three on Saturday, the last three from a full-back who had not yet taken a kick.
Vienne won the final fixture of Round 2 of Nationale 23-21, at home to Rennes on Saturday 29 August. The club turned things around twice: in the match, where they trailed 14-21 on the hour, and in their season, seven days after conceding 47-0 at Mont-de-Marsan.
How it unfolded
| Minute | Event | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1′ | Penalty Harry Glynn (Rennes) | 0-3 |
| 16′ | Try Chuck Odum, conversion Clément Doucet | 7-3 |
| 18′ | Penalty Glynn | 7-6 |
| 19′ | Try Arthur Nennig, conversion Doucet | 14-6 |
| 29′ | Try Hypolite Cornu | 14-11 |
| 40′ | Penalty Glynn | 14-14 |
| 43′ | Try Quentin Dauvergne, conversion Gabriel Quesmel | 14-21 |
| 51′ | Penalty Doucet | 17-21 |
| 62′ | Penalty Doucet | 20-21 |
| 78′ | Penalty Jules Dorrival | 23-21 |
Half-time: 14-14.
A prop, a winger and a full-back with the boot
Vienne’s two tries came from unusual numbers. The first was scored by Chuck Odum, a prop wearing the number 1, in the 16th minute. The second went to winger Arthur Nennig three minutes later. After that, nothing more in attack: the club’s last nine points all came from the boot.
The detail that matters is the choice of kicker at the end. Fly-half Clément Doucet had landed both conversions and the penalties in the 51st and 62nd minutes. Yet it was full-back Jules Dorrival who took the one in the 78th, the one that won the game.
For Rennes, Harry Glynn kicked three penalties and missed the conversion of Hypolite Cornu’s try. He still ends the round as the division’s top points scorer with 29 in two games, ahead of Florent Massip and Aurélien Barreau on 25.
What the win means for Vienne
The club are coming off two seasons in Nationale 2 and are back in the division they left in 2024. Their previous stint was not a memorable one.
| Season | Division | Games | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Nationale | 27 | 3 |
| 2024-25 | Nationale 2 | 25 | 16 |
| 2025-26 | Nationale 2 | 26 | 16 |
| 2026-27 | Nationale | 2 | 1 |
Three wins in twenty-seven games last time, then two seasons with sixteen wins apiece in the division below. The 47-0 defeat at Mont-de-Marsan on the opening weekend raised fears of a repeat of 2023-2024. It took just one week for the comparison to end.
The table after two rounds
| Team | P | W | L | For | Against | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carcassonne | 2 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 26 | +42 |
| Suresnes | 2 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 27 | +19 |
| Massy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 37 | +14 |
| Mont-de-Marsan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 21 | +43 |
| Chambéry | 2 | 1 | 1 | 79 | 59 | +20 |
| Rouen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 52 | +20 |
| Rennes | 2 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 51 | +5 |
| Bourgoin | 2 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 46 | -4 |
| Orléans | 2 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 65 | -9 |
| Albi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 49 | -14 |
| Vienne | 2 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 68 | -45 |
| Marcq-en-Baroeul | 2 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 48 | -14 |
| Périgueux | 2 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 76 | -32 |
| US Bressane | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 63 | -45 |
The table is based on wins and points difference, excluding bonus points.
What’s next
Round 3 is played on 4 and 5 September. Vienne host Albi on Saturday 5 September at 6.30pm, and Rennes welcome Périgueux the same day. At the top of the table, Carcassonne host Rouen and Suresnes take on Massy in a clash of unbeaten sides.
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