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The goal of remaining unbeaten at home for the 2024-2025 season has been achieved for the Barracudas, who knocked out league leaders Bruc 29-19 on Saturday evening in St Jean.
It was a real crossroads in terms of scoring between the two teams, who did their utmost to play as much rugby as possible. In particular, there was a goalscoring duel in the 1st quarter between the "in-house" Viriato and Abymien Brosse. And although the first try for XV Saint-Barth came from Matteo Imbertis, converted by Romain Viriato, the second try of the game came from Bruciste, and it was Genet who "went over" to allow the visitors to go into the locker room with a small lead (10-11). The second half got off to a more favorable start for Les Ciel et Blancs, who, encouraged by their fans, scored again in the penalty area through newcomer Baptiste Gaudin, then Romain Viriato, who did not hesitate to play a nasty trick on his former club by putting in a major performance (22-11). Midway through the second half, the Abymian leaders made no bones about it and came back into the game thanks to Osuna, who flattened Saint Barth and pushed Bruc to within 3 points after another Brosse penalty (22 - 19). But 5 minutes from the final whistle, Romain Viriato, who was everywhere, scored the winning try and converted it to close the score at 29 - 19. Romain Viriato, Saint Barth's man of the match, was delighted with the win: "It was a big match between the first and second teams in the league. It was a great spectacle, despite the absence, suspension and injury of a number of players. A big thank you to our forwards, who won the match for us, I think. We've got a very close-knit group where the guys fight for each other. We can be proud of our victory, which keeps us in 2nd place on the podium. "The opposing team's captain, Pierre Bochinger, confirms the high standard of this top-of-the-table duel: "There was a lot of pace in this match, and it was so evenly matched that we were back to back at half-time. In the second half, the Barracudas got the better of us, especially when it came to carrying balls, which they exploited very well. Their victory is logical. "Saint Barth forwards coach, Gauthier Perriguet, reads the match in the same way: "We worked a lot on defense and carrying balls to put the Bruc to the sword, and I think that's where we made the difference. We didn't show enough desire in the first leg, but we saw the difference tonight, because even if we didn't dominate our opponents rugby-wise, we were more determined to win the match than they were. "The Barracudas will need to be in the mood for their next match on March 29, when they travel to Saint Martin to take on the Archiball de Saint Martin in the Derby des Iles du Nord.
