IN THE top-two clash between local rivals Carcassonne and Limoux, it was the Canaries who snatched the golden-point victory to take over from their neighbours at the top of the table.
The lead changed hands several times in a breathless first half. Limoux appeared to have the upper hand towards the end of the half as stand-off Matis Dall’Asta dummied his way through to put winger Quentin Crunel in, before scrum-half Kauri Aupouri dodged the defence to go under the posts for a 20-14 lead.
But two minutes from the interval Carcassonne full back Morgan Escaré took a quick tap penalty and dived over from two metres out.
The Canaries stormed back after the break, scoring two tries in quick succession and taking a 28-20 lead. But Dall’Asta, in a less free-flowing second half, somehow wriggled free from three defenders to touch down and converted before adding a penalty, which brought the scores level at 28-all. A number of over-ambitious drop-goal attempts followed in extra time before Escaré, from 25 metres directly in front of goal, landed the matchwinner.
Lézignan’s woes continue. Without a win since mid-December, they parted company with coach Cyril Stacul following the previous week’s home defeat to St Gaudens, leaving the existing staff to take charge. But the same old problem of lack of discipline reared its head when they travelled to next-to-bottom club Villeneuve, where the FCL copped five yellow cards, resulting in a 40-26 loss. Centre Konrad Hurrell, however, stood out for Lézignan, using his power to touch down twice and lay on two tries for his winger Jordan Flovie. But his performance was equalled by Villeneuve halfback Thomas Lasvenes, whose kicking led to his side’s first two tries, for Quentin Malbec and Guillaume Poulain, and later for Lucas Vergniol, as well as landing six goals, while fullback Jack Aiken scored a try in each half.
With three matches left to play, Lézignan, in seventh spot behind St Estève-XIII Catalan, have practically kissed their play-off chances goodbye.
Pia, with games in hand, kept the pressure on the leaders with a 20-6 win over Toulouse. Following an evenly-balanced first half, and with the wind behind them, the home side added twelve second-half points. Earlier Toulouse prop Wail Skoundri burst through to score from 30 metres for a 6-0 lead. Pia lost no time in replying as fullback Hakim Miloudi skipped inside the defence to touch down, Damien Huescar adding the conversion and then a penalty for an 8-6 lead.
Third-placed Avignon were made to struggle by ninth-placed Villefranche before emerging as 28-22 winners.
Albi, who have had a mediocre run of form recently, went some way toward redeeming themselves with a 34-0 win at St Gaudens.
Results
Avignon 28 Villefranche 22
Carcassonne 29 Limoux 28
Pia 20 Toulouse 6
St Gaudens 0 Albi 34
Villeneuve 40 Lézignan 26
Bye: St Estève-XIII Catalan
Fixtures
Saturday 4 April
Albi v Villeneuve 19:00
St Estève-XIII Catalan v Avignon 16:00
Sunday 5 April
Limoux v Pia 15:30
Toulouse v St Gaudens 15:30
Villefranche v Carcassonne 15:30
Bye: Lézignan
Table
Carcassonne 40 pts
Limoux 39 pts
Avignon 35 pts
Pia 34 pts
Albi 34 pts
St Estève-XIII Catalan 26 pts
Lézignan 22 pts
Toulouse 21 pts
Villefranche 19 pts
Villeneuve 18 pts
St Gaudens 14 pts