VILLENEUVE stunned St Estève-XIII Catalan on their own ground to go through to the championship semi-finals by the emphatic score of 34-12.
Sixth-placed Villeneuve came back from 12-0 down to level the scores at the break before scoring three tries in 14 minutes at the start of the second period.
The Catalans started brightly enough with wingers Corentin Rey and Léo Darrelatour both taking chances to cross, but their defence was quickly exposed by the Leopards, for whom Guillaume Poulain then Damien Gautier went over.
The momentum was all Villeneuve’s as the influential Hamza Bachoukh touched down from dummy-half before star fullback Jack Aiken notched from an inside pass by Jakob Giles, who then provided the delivery for the third try of the half. Aiken then dealt the final blow, skating through several defenders to touch down.
Limoux, playing their second game in four days, pipped Pia with a last-minute Zac Santo try from a Morgan McWhirter half-break which put Maxime Grésèque’s side into the semi-final by 24-22.
Ten minutes earlier, it looked as though winger Damien Huescar’s third try would be enough to give the home side victory. But, on a heavy pitch, Pia’s indiscipline cost them dear.
In the first half two tries from winger Quentin Crunel put Limoux in contention after Pia had taken the lead with two tries from Huescar and three goals from Hakim Miloudi.
Santo, after scoring Limoux’s first try, made the 60-metre break for Crunel’s first and then, just before half-time, Widnes-bound McWhirter took advantage of a mix-up in Pia’s defence to go over for a 20-14 half-time lead.
The much-anticipated final match of the regular season between the top two, Albi and Carcassonne, proved as damp as the weather which had caused the postponement of the original fixture ten days earlier.
Carcassonne appeared to have already settled for second place in the table and left out eight key players, bringing in four juniors. Albi also rested a number of regulars but seized the opportunity to finish top, which they did for the first time since their promotion ten years ago.
In a 58-16 triumph, Albi’s backs revelled in the scoring opportunities, none more so than 20-year old fullback Maxime Rostang, who scored two scintillating tries. Julien Cancé, recalled to the side on the wing, bagged three as did Romain Franco on the other wing.
For Carcassonne, Clément Boyer, normally a prop, was prominent out wide, scoring the try which briefly rallied his side, and Georgy Gambaro, ever the opportunist, claimed two tries on the wing.
Limoux also fielded a rearranged side in midweek against St Gaudens, who were already eliminated. Limoux duly won 42-26 while for St Gaudens, winger Mathieu Pons scored a hat-trick.
The league table shows Pia, St Estève-XIII Catalan and Limoux all on the same number of points, with Pia having by far the superior points difference.
But according to federation regulations, it is not the points scored over the season which determines the play-off positions but the points difference in games played between these three teams. Hence St Estève took third spot and Pia fourth and Limoux fifth.
Results
Albi 58 Carcassonne 16
Limoux 42 St Gaudens 26
(both matches played Wednesday, April 30)
Championship play-offs
St Estève-XIII Catalan 12 Villeneuve 34
Pia 22 Limoux 24
Fixtures
Saturday, May 10/Sunday 11
Championship semi-finals
Albi v Limoux
Carcassonne v Villeneuve
