French Top 14 round-two: Bayonne shut out Agen
Bayonne hosted Agen over the weekend and shut out the newly promoted side.
Bayonne had full control of the match from start to finish playing clinical rugby, which proved too much for the Agen side. The match was over after the first half, as Bayonne took a 20 point lead into the second stanza. Adding one more try for good measure Bayonne cruised to victory 27-0.
Recap
Fly-half Benjamin Boyet started the scoring off with a penalty in the third minute to give the home side a 3-0 advantage. Rob Linde added to the lead quickly with a try in the eighth minute and after Boyet put through the conversion Bayonne led 10-0.
Scoring in bunches Bayonne got on the board again in the 26th minute with a second penalty from Boyet. Once again they added to the score with a quick try, this time from centre Craig Gower in the 30th minute. Boyet maintained his strong day at the tee putting through the conversion to make the lead 20-0 heading into halftime.
After the break, the game fell silent, with Bayonne successfully keeping Agen away from their try-line while doing little on offence as they fell back into a more defensive game-plan.
The home team would add another try for good luck with replacement Lionel Mazars working his way over the whitewash, and substitute Cedric Garcia putting the conversion through in the 77th minute to finish the game off at 27-0.
Bayonne was simply able to control the game almost playing with Agen throughout the 80 minutes. Bayonne was able to take their time on offence and calculate their next move, as the Agen defence could not contain them. In the second half Bayonne got their subs involved switching in all but two of their bench players.
Analysis
Bayonne once again looked strong registering their second win of the season to put them near the top of the table. Although they did not rack-up the tries against a less skilled Agen side they were able to score early and settle into an easy rhythm in the second half.
Agen meanwhile will need to go back to the drawing board once again, as they suffered their second loss of the young season. In round-one despite the loss Agen looked as though they might be able to challenge in the Top 14. However, after this weekend’s game it is clear they will need to come up with a new plan if they hope to avoid relegation.
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