Oyonnax more leader than ever

But who will succeed in bringing down Oyonnax? The Al Ain players, carried by Gavin Starck on fire, are more than ever at the helm of the Pro D2, after their seventh successive win, at Soyaux-Angoulême at the start of the thirteenth day: 15-20 thanks to a very big second half. In the second half, Charentais was already leading in the score (15-5). Emmanuel Saubusse opened the scoring with a penalty kick from the third minute (3-0), but Gavin Starck quickly left his box to score his first try of the match, into the left corner at the end of the alignment, while the procedure was on. He started with a touch on the right side (3-5, 7). Then no point was scored until the half-hour mark, and Saba Pesvianidze’s effort after close play (10-5, 30), in an action that caused Florian Vialli to receive a yellow card. A fatal numerical shortage of Oyonnax, who conceded a second attempt eight minutes later, by Martin Lestremau, in the left corner after a wonderful pass at the foot of Mathieu Ugalde (15-5, 38).

Stark holds Oyonnax

But Oyomen came back with very different intentions in the second period, pretty much dominating their opponents. In the 44th, Gavin Stark, the New Zealand winger who arrived this summer from Biarritz, gave himself his second try of the evening, after a rhythm from Thomas Laclayat and great teamwork that concluded with a small zigzag into the left corner (15-10, 44). Shortly before the hour mark, Inaki Ayarza introduced an optional striker and got a yellow card, which Al Ain club took advantage of two minutes later, with a new attempt from … Gavin Stark, again in the left corner with a small turnover (15-17, 58). Justin Burrow certainly protected his team by scoring a penalty three minutes after the whistle, so another victory for Oyonaks. Al Ain players now have a six-point lead over Biarritz, who will travel to third-placed Grenoble on Friday. For its part, Soyaux-Angoulême ranks 11th.