In a breathless last quarter of the local derby, French Elite 1 Championship leaders Carcassonne edged a 38-34 victory over second-placed Limoux with a Vincent Albert try converted from touch by Clément Herrero.
In a high-scoring match, the sides were level on 30-30 before Limoux winger Fabien Flovie dived over at the corner with five minutes remaining. Carcassonne pushed straight up to the other end, where Vincent Albert powered over to bring the scores level again at 34-all. Herrero’s conversion, plus a penalty goal for an infringement after the try, saw the Canaries keep their lead at the top of the table and Limoux claim the bonus point. Carcassonne, with a bye next week, have now finished the regular part of their season, while Limoux, who are at home to Villeneuve, could still overtake their rivals if they win and by a big enough margin.
Lézignan, in third, have been struggling to recapture their form in recent weeks. Their star half-back, former Catalan Dragon James Maloney, who has not played since mid-March, has been suspended after allegedly testing positive for a recreational drug, according to L’Indépendant. Yesterday, also without the injured playmaker Thomas Lacans, Lézignan found Avignon difficult opponents. The visitors led 27-14 with ten minutes left before a last-ditch effort gave the FCL a win by 28-27. Jordan Flovie and Théo Bonneriez both crossed, Rémy Marginet goaling both to bring the home side within one point. Avignon’s mistake at the restart saw Marginet win the game with a penalty.
It has been a wretched year for St Gaudens. Without a win all season, they were on minus one point in the table following a failure to fulfil a rearranged fixture at Carcassonne. The Federation has now imposed a further one-point penalty resulting from a crowd incident at the home match against Villeneuve, when it was reported that objects were thrown at a touch judge.
In their match at Albi on Saturday, St Gaudens suffered another heavy defeat, losing 58-6 after being 42-6 down at half-time. For Albi, winger Nittim Pedrero and loose forward Chase Bernard both scored hat-tricks, with winger Julien Cancé scoring a try and landing nine goals. Albi, in fourth place, are set for the play-offs.
St Estève-XIII Catalan also look to have booked their place in the play-offs with a vital 30-8 win at Villeneuve, who are now virtually out of contention. The Catalans had much the better of the second half, with half-back César Rougé prompting, and scored long-range tries through wingers Mike Parenti and Romain Franco.
RESULTS
Albi 58 St Gaudens 6
Carcassonne 38 Limoux 34
Lézignan 28 Avignon 27
Villeneuve 8 St Estève-XIII Catalan 30
Bye: Toulouse
FIXTURES
Saturday 16 April
Albi v Lézignan 19:00
Avignon v Toulouse 17:30
Limoux v Villeneuve 15:00
St Estève-XIII Catalan v St Gaudens 16:30
Bye: Carcassonne
Date and times tbc
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