With a crushing 44-0 victory over Villeneuve in the last round of the regular part of the season, Limoux overtook Carcassonne on points difference to finish as Elite 1 Championship leaders.
Carcassonne had already completed their fixtures, while Lézignan, who also entertained hopes of finishing in the top two and thus ensuring direct qualification for the semis, remained in third after losing at Albi.
Limoux needed to beat Villeneuve by 26 points to topple Carcassonne and already led 18-0 at half-time, thanks to two converted tries from second rower Yann Belmaaziz and another from loose forward Maxime Péault. They coasted home in the second period. Against his former club, half-back Stan Robin, at the heart of many Limoux attacks, twice fooled the opposition defence to touch down after forwards Lucas Vergniol and Mathieu Liauzun had opened the second-half scoring, with winger Fabien Flovie also crossing. Pat Templeman landed six conversions. Villeneuve, consigned to seventh place, missed out on qualification for the top-six play-offs.
Albi made sure of fourth spot with a 34-22 win over Lézignan that was more comfortable than the score suggests. The home side out-enthused the current champions, who have suffered a downturn in recent weeks, not helped by the loss of James Maloney and the injured Thomas Lacans in particular. Ahead 18-6 at half-time, following some excellent attacking moves which brought tries for Nittim Pedrero, Brad Wall and Jack Cook against a try by Jordan Flovie, Albi tightened their grip after the break. Despite a Maxime Benausse try from Rémy Marginet’s kick-through, Albi took a 34-12 lead following two Baptiste Fabre penalties, a Chase Bernard powerhouse four-pointer and a try from Fabre, who finished another thrilling move and kicked seven goals in all. Late tries from Cyril Stacul and Jean-Baptiste Bousquet gave Lézignan the consolation of a defensive bonus point, which however had no effect on their league position.
St Estève-XIII Catalan thrashed bottom club St Gaudens 64-4 to finish fifth while Avignon, for whom winger Hugo Demonte touched down twice, dominated Toulouse 46-0 to stay sixth.
The two catch-up fixtures this coming weekend will have no bearing on the final table. In the barrages in two weeks’ time, third-placed Lézignan will face sixth-placed Avignon while Albi, in fourth spot – their highest placing for several years – will be at home to St Estève-XIII Catalan.
RESULTS
Albi 34 Lézignan 22
Avignon 46 Toulouse 0
St Estève-XIII Catalan 64 St Gaudens 4
Limoux 44 Villeneuve 0
Bye: Carcassonne
FIXTURES
Saturday 23 April
Lézignan v Villeneuve 15:30
Sunday 24 April
St Gaudens v Toulouse 15:00
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.