After the wait, the fireworks. Pro D2 officially got under way on Friday and this opening day produced exceptional matches and scores. The 50-point mark was passed in 6 of the 7 fixtures and the least prolific of the lot still reached the very respectable total of 44 points.

Biarritz got the ball rolling by taking an outrageous duel with Béziers with an attacking bonus point (55-36). In a downpour, Aurillac also picked up 5 points at home against Carcassonne (41-10), as did Nevers, who torpedoed Agen at the Pré Fleuri (54-17), while Valence-Romans missed out on the bonus against Dax (36-23).

Trouilloud freezes Charles-Mathon

In a far tighter contest, Soyaux-Angoulême avenged last season’s play-off defeat against Provence Rugby (28-25). Colomiers, meanwhile, pulled off a nice coup by winning at Mont-de-Marsan (20-24), and what to say about Grenoble, who went and won the Alpine derby at Oyonnax (28-30) thanks to an incredible penalty from close to 60 metres by Romain Trouilloud after the hooter. This crazy opening round will finish on Saturday night with a mouthwatering Brive – Vannes (9pm).