Rugby - Barracudas make successful league debut

At St Jean stadium, the Barracudas won their first clash of the season 35-5 against the two-time defending Guadeloupe champions, Good Luck du Gosier. It has to be said that the motivation of the Barracudas was there, as they were almost out for revenge against the Gosiers, who had won 4 times in a row against the Saint Barths. There's a famous saying in the world of rugby that "a rugby match is won in front". A recipe applied to the letter by a pack of "8 super forwards, who kept the team moving forward for 80 minutes", according to coach Romain Viriato, well placed at the back to see his "big men" win the duels. The technical and tactical contribution of Barras' second coach and player, Gauthier Perriguet, was no stranger to this. Author of 2 of the 4 tries scored, he was a key player in last Saturday's victory. And he wasn't the only forward to score: Christophe Bassenge also scored a first-half try. So, what do the three-quarters do when the pack dominates proceedings and monopolizes the ball carried? Well, they defend... And rather well, so much so that, together with their front-line mates, they held off 10 minutes of Good Luck pressure, conceding just one try to Guillaume Lebreton, the Red & White's top scorer at the start of the season. These collective efforts were rewarded with a try from center Alex Dagorn, who has been scoring in front of his Saint Jean fans for years. And with Romain Viriato's kicking ability on the conversions, the first half ended with a score of 22-5.
After the break, Good Luck tried to raise their game and opted for a youthful approach, fielding 7 players under the age of 23 in the second half. But this Saturday, the Barracudas were stronger and took the lead with two more penalties from Romain Viriato. And in stoppage time, the Saint Barths even secured an offensive bonus and a 5-point victory, thanks to Gauthier Perriguet's second try, which pierced the Gosier curtain, still in first gear. "It's the biggest away game of the year, we were eagerly awaited and found ourselves up against a big physical challenge, which we couldn't cope with, especially in the first half. There was some improvement in the second half, but it wasn't enough to capitalize on the extra points in this game," commented a lucid Good Luck captain Donatien Phillip. For XV Saint-Barth coach Romain Viriato, the contract set for this first match of the season was fulfilled: "Our forwards were extraordinary, driven on by our fans, and at the back, we managed to occupy the game well, both on foot and in the running game.... so yes, not everything was perfect, it's true, we sometimes made mistakes, but it's the start of the season and we're still making adjustments to improve our performance. "Propelled to second place on the podium, the Saint Barths will have until January 18 to fine-tune their game and make those famous adjustments, with a view to springing a surprise at Bruc des Abymes. As a reminder, the Abymiens, the new leaders in the standings, denied the Barracudas a place in last year's championship final.