In the first minutes of the quarter-final, Stade Rochelais was impatient and returned possession to Union. Union, carried by their individualities brought the ball up 22 maritime meters. Mael Moustin scored the opening goal with a corner try (0-5, 3rd). With the help of the wind and an imperial conquest, the young Stadistes seized control of their opponent and took the lead through two penalties by Harry Glynn (6-5-21st).
Connor Sa’s try (6-10, 28th) quickly ended this dominance on the scoreboard. Half-time is a relentless report: despite the wind’s advantage and an extremely dominant scrum, and a touchdown harvest by Thomas Ployet from the Rochelais, the Rochelais were still four points behind ( 6-10, second-half).
The Yellow and Blacks returned from the locker room and continued to undermine the scrum until they were awarded a penalty try, which allowed them to return back to equality (13-13 and 54th). They conceded points again, just like in the first act (13-19, 70th). The Bordelais Joseph Exshaw won the final penalty. Rochelais had scored a match point just a few minutes before (13-19, 70th). Sebastien Morel regretted that “on this action, we just needed to be patient, as our elders the previous day”,
“We believe it doesn’t take too much to get it over to our side. But somewhere, it means that there wasn’t enough. We will learn from this frustrating experience. The three-quarter coach says that we are still a young team and are still learning. Everything was new at the beginning of the season: players, staff… We began from afar but built something together. It’s a great season. The boys have tasted victory, and we can’t let that stop us.
