French Top 14 round five: Biarritz sneaks by Stade Francais
Biarritz was able to pull off a close victory at home over Stade Francais in Parc des Sports Aguilera over the weekend.
Biarritz completed an upset over Stade Francais at home in round five. The two sides were evenly matched throughout the entire first half as they entered the break tied. After half-time, Biarritz was able to get out to a quick lead. The home side then settled into a defensive game and was able to record a 19-11 victory.
Recap
Stade Francais was able to get on the board first with a penalty in the 10th minute from scrum-half Julien Dupuy, giving the visitors a quick 3-0 advantage.
However, the lead was short-lived, as Dimitri Yachvili was able to counter with a penalty of his own in the 15th minute.
Dupuy came back with a penalty in the 19th minute to restore the lead for his side. Nevethless, Yachvili once again wasted no time and responded with a penalty in the 26th minute, to ensure the two sides entered the half tied at six.
After the break, Biarritz got out to a strong start, scoring a try in the 43rd minute courtesy of lock Manuel Carizza. Yachvili continued his solid day from the tee, hitting the conversion and then a penalty five minutes later to give the home team a 16-6 advantage.
Stade Francais was able to answer back with a try in the 65th minute. Centre Mathieu Bastareaud darted over the line, however the conversion was missed and Biarritz was able to hold onto a 16-11 lead.
Yachvili added an exclamation point to his already impressive game with a drop-goal in the 67th minute, sealing the match for the home side.
Analysis
Biarritz were able to get the normally offensive Stade Francais to buy into their defensive game plan as they dictated the flow of play throughout the 80 minutes. With two wins and 10 points Biarritz is within striking distance of the middle of the pack, but will need to generate more offence if they hope to compete consistently.
Meanwhile Stade Francais has taken a step backwards over the last two weeks after starting off the season undefeated. Stade has incredible talent on offence sitting second to Toulouse in points-for this season. However, they have also allowed 125 points in only five games and will need to find a way to improve on defence if they hope to remain in the top five.
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