Failed again. Once again copiously dominated away, Stade Français conceded a scathing defeat to Lyon (35-3), Sunday evening at the end of the 6th day of Top 14. The Parisians, without solution and cornered in their camp, suffered a fourth setback since the start of the championship and are 13th in the ranking. After their success the previous weekend against Montpellier (29-20), they relapsed and still have not launched their season. The evening copy, worrying, hardly encourages optimism.
Completely weaned off offensive balls (only two balls hit in the opposing 22m), the Stadistes spent most of their time in their 40m, defending or tirelessly trying to free themselves. The defense, one of the many black spots at the start of the season, held out for half an hour. But by having to endure the impacts and the flashes of the enemy, the building logically wobbled and missed, in total, around thirty tackles. Prejudicial, especially against a LOU who is attractive and sure of his strengths.
“We are caught in a vicious circle”
The Rhone residents could even have achieved a much greater success, without some blunders in their attacking game. They actually did not need to exert their talent, as the Parisians showered them with ammunition. Two Lyon tries, by Josiah Maraku (34th, 14-0) then Baptiste Couilloud (48th, 28-3), were thus scored at the end of scrums following crude advances from Léo Barré then Joe Marchant in their 22m.
Another, concluded by Ethan Dumortier (62nd, 35-3), was greatly facilitated by a pass after contact in the void from Sekou Macalou. These individual errors are the symbol of a collective that has been mistreated, including on its own throws into touch or introduction into the scrum, and which has, despite the few balls touched, committed around ten forwards. The Parisians were also unable to get their heads above water, in a disjointed and uninteresting end to the match.
“We are caught in a vicious circle,” laments Parisian pillar Clément Castets. Sometimes, everything works out for us like last year when we won matches that we could have lost. There, we have difficulty completing our actions, even if we do things well, it doesn’t show on the scoreboard. We have to work harder, eat our black bread, work and maybe it will work or not.”
Still without the slightest away point, after two first heavy losses in Bordeaux (26-46) then in Pau (16-30), Stade Français is sailing in troubled waters and is light years away from its so solid level from last year. He will have to quickly recover from this defeat, the biggest suffered in two and a half years, before going to Castres on Saturday.
The points
Lyon : 5 tries by Ioane (12th), Maraku (34th), Couilloud (42nd and 48th), Dumortier (62nd) and 5 conversions by Berdeu (12th, 34th, 42nd, 48th and 62nd).
French Stadium: 1 Carbonel penalty (40th).
