Grenoble host Brive on Saturday evening (9pm) to close out round 21 of the Pro D2. On Friday, the other matches set the tone. Cards galore, crucial wins, moments of madness… The league served up another fine show. Here is the pick of it.

Agen pile the pressure on Brive

Mixing the good with the less good, Agen claimed a fine win over Valence-Romans (34-23) and moved back up to 7th (48 points), just behind Brive (49 points). Inspired by a brace from in-form wing Lucas Martins, Agen put in a serious performance against VRDR. Fabien Fortassin’s men, meanwhile, stay fourth but will head off on a second consecutive away trip, to Angoulême, next week. It is worth noting that Valence-Romans were without their marksman Lucas Méret, injured before the game.

A vital win for Carcassonne

Carcassonne are far from dead. In keeping with what they have been producing for several weeks now, they saw off Nevers (42-31), at the end of a spectacular contest. With their backs on fire, as shown by Pablo Patilla’s brace, but also with a combative pack, USC are now only two points off second-from-bottom Mont-de-Marsan. Conversely, USON have now gone six matches without a win and will need to react very quickly or risk giving themselves a scare in this run-in.

Irresistible Colomiers

“We’re clearly targeting the top two”, centre Enzo Salles said at the end of the match. Second at the close of round 21 as it turns out, Colomiers above all racked up a seventh straight win, against Béziers (18-0). Still without their fantastic Portuguese contingent (Martins, Pinto and Marta), Florian Nicot’s players sent another strong signal to their rivals. Béziers failed to pull off a shock and find themselves 14th, six points clear of Mont-de-Marsan (15th).

Dax bring down a big one

Embarked on a very difficult survival mission, USD still are not wilting. Still handicapped by their 14-point deduction, Dax controlled Provence Rugby (33-21), in Bayonne (the game was moved because of an unplayable pitch). A benchmark win for Vincent Etcheto and his players, who showed fine resistance up front and good initiative behind. Provence, for their part, were hurt by the red card shown to Guillaume Piazzoli after a nasty knee to the head. Far too indisciplined (16 penalties, one red, two yellows), Philippe Saint-André’s players – unbeaten in 2026 before the game – were well off it and hand second place to Colomiers. Dax are 12th (35 points).

Too easy for Oyonnax

Oyonnax, the bogey team of this run-in? Fabien Cibray’s players did not do things by halves against Mont-de-Marsan (73-7). 11 tries in all, a demonstration and a display of total control. 5th, five points behind Valence-Romans, “Oyo” could well be gathering momentum for the closing stretch. A very comfortable win to be put into perspective, though, given the opposition on the night. Missing 15 players, Mont-de-Marsan had thrown in a host of youngsters (2 players were making their Pro D2 debuts). The Landes side now find themselves under pressure, with Carcassonne closing in and Dax giving themselves some breathing space. Maximum pressure before they host Biarritz.

Aurillac back in the race

On the “not-so-straight pitch” at Jean-Alric (Alexandre Ruiz’s words), Aurillac are back in the race for a play-off place thanks to their win over Soyaux-Angoulême (18-0). 8th with 46 points, Aurillac once again showed their solidity at home. Conversely, SAXV suffer a fourth defeat in five matches and drop important points in the final scrap. Their next match, against Valence-Romans, already looks vital for what follows.

Vannes, again and again

Not helped by a surprising red card for Michael Ruru (69th minute), RCV claimed another win on the road at Biarritz on Friday night (33-40). In the wake of Léon Boulier, Anthony Bouthier, Simon Augry and Paul Surano, all excellent, Jean-Noël Spitzer’s players continue at their cruising speed. Biarritz, for their part, will have regrets after a good performance let down by a lack of accuracy off the tee and wasted ammunition. That home defeat leaves them 13th. Danger ahead.