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And to get into the mood for a kick-off given for the occasion by Bob Sinclar, the Barracudas didn't take long to get their game going, scoring 2 tries in quick succession in the first 10 minutes.Valentin Lalo and Chris Bassage both scored tries in the first ten minutes of the game, flattening the opposition's in-goal after well-started carries. Romain Viriato, the home scorer, made 2 successful conversions to make it 14-0 in less than a quarter of an hour for the Saint-Jean crowd, which had turned out in force as always. After this small gap, it was the turn of the visitors, RC Goyave, to finally get into the game, but their attempts, often at first-half tries, failed to destabilize the Saint Barth defense. Only points scored by Goyave's Tim Stoltz kept the visitors off the scoreboard at half-time (14-6).
A historic scoreline
In the second act, we take the same (or almost the same) and start again. The Barracudas attacked the second half with drums beating and the crowd cheering them on, driving the opposing pack into the ground and Patrick Rivière scoring. Goyave still had their heads in the locker room, and the "ciels et blancs" took advantage of the situation, with a well-executed penalty-touch allowing Chris Bassage to score twice. With a 90% success rate on foot, full-back Romain Viriato made his presence felt at home, confirming the Barras' clear advantage (26-6 in the 59th minute). And to celebrate the club's 40th anniversary, the Barras have no intention of stopping there: "It's the club's 40th anniversary, guys, so we've got to go for the 40 points, come on! "says Alex Ros, the experienced center from Saint Barthélémy. The message was received 5 out of 5 by Quentin Brats, the fly-half, who finished off a fine team try under the posts. Gauthier Perriguet, the forwards' player-coach, also scored a try, following a successful combination in the opposing camp. With 5 minutes to go, the score reached a symbolic 40-6. Was this deliberate slacking off, or a desire to maintain this eloquent result for such an event? In any case, the Saint Barth rugbymen finished the match on a freewheel, which gave RC Goyave one last chance, well used this time, when fly-half Doryann Pagési sent his prop William Petreluzzi over to save his side's honor, with a final conversion by Stoltz. The final score was 40-13 for the Barracudas, enough to celebrate the club's 40th anniversary. "We were under a lot of pressure, a particular pressure, and we didn't want to spoil the party, so we did well," recalls Romain Viriato, the club's goalscorer and coach. "For the record, we'll say that tonight's 40 points were achieved on purpose," says Gauthier Perriguet, with a mischievous look in his eye.
A victory for the public
"In fact, this victory, on the club's anniversary, is above all dedicated to the public, who are always present, and also to our volunteers, who do so much for rugby on our island all year round! Without them, we wouldn't be giving it our all, that's for sure! "adds young 3rd lath player Téo Bischoff. On the other side, despite the festivities, Goyave were hoping for a little better, as their full-back Tim Stoltz points out: "We're struggling to get into this game and it's costing us points, at the start of each half to boot. Behind that, we don't give up and we don't give up, as shown by the last try. But we still need to make a lot of progress in the halted phases and in the organization of the running game. "
The Porcu event
For this anniversary like no other, the senior team offered the public a unique gift: to have 62-year-old Philippe "Porcu" Bertin and his 20-year-old son Tim play together, both of them starting on the scoresheet. More than 40 years separate the ages of father and son, and for the occasion, playing together was magical, wearing the colors of their beloved club. "It's the match of my life today, because I played with my dad - can you believe it? Plus he's still got the rhythm, did you see that? "said an emotional Tim Bertin. When I went off after 30 minutes, my team-mates started to walk, because I was the one setting the pace for the youngsters. "Finally, Porcu recalls this second row formed for this match, alongside his son, with tremolos in his voice: "It's the dream of every rugby dad, to play with his son, under the same jersey, it's magnificent, there's nothing more beautiful in our sport I think... "A Bertin duo at the heart of the scrum, who could once again be lined up for upcoming matches. For example, on March 15, when Le Bruc take on the Abymian leaders and their new runners-up, the Barracudas de Saint Barthélemy.
