Français
The North Island derby, played out last Saturday on the Archiball pitch in Saint Martin, saw the Saint Barthélemy rugby players come away with a hard-fought 28-25 victory.
A derby is always a match with a special flavor, where local supremacy takes precedence over all the other objectives of the contending teams. This was the case on Saturday afternoon in Bellevue, where the Barracudas had to fight hard to overcome the very tough Saint Martinois. Although Saint-Barth often led the score during the match, the last half-hour was breathtaking, as the locals decided to turn up the heat. "It came down to nothing, we won this derby, but it could have been them. We played most of the game with 14 or even 13 men, with yellow cards and a red card against us. This gave ammunition to our opponents, who, galvanized by their fans, outwitted us and led us into foul trouble on numerous occasions," sums up Romain Viriato, Saint-Barth's full-back and scorer. Scorers between the posts were in fine form on both sides: 13 points for Romain Viriato and 20 points for Archiball opener Thomas Blancafort. "We shouldn't be fooled by the current league standings; Saint Martin shouldn't be the bottom of the table," points out Romain Viriato. For in the middle of the pitch, the Archiballs offered a real physical challenge, with rugged impacts in all four corners of the pitch, the sign of a real derby that everyone had been waiting for. "We're frustrated by the 3-point difference in the end, but we'll take the positives from this match: we didn't let ourselves down, we competed, in front of our fans. With this result, we're no longer thinking too much about qualifying for the play-offs. For us, the objective is to finish the season well with a fine victory at home in our final league match against RC Goyave", sums up Saint Martin captain Hugo Salcedo. For Saint-Barth, the match had all the makings of a trap: with injuries, absentees and suspended players, it was impossible to travel with a full squad. "We put our faith in our young players, our usual substitutes, to give them game time, gain experience and make up for the absence of some of the team's key players. A derby is always a learning experience. The 15 lads on the scoresheet were on top form, as demonstrated by the two tries Nicolas Genitau scored for us", recalls player-coach Gauthier Perriguet, who also scored a try for the Barras.
A trip to the defending champions this Saturday
In the home stretch to the play-offs, a perilous trip to Good Luck Gosier awaits les ciels et blancs this Saturday. Gauthier Perriguet remains lucid about this confrontation: "Despite the absences, our ambition is to take points away from a direct title rival. We're well aware that the Good Luck team we beat at the start of the season in Saint Jean won't be the same at home in Gosier. "Not always brilliant on their travels this season, the Barras have their destiny in their own hands to stay in second place, provided they succeed in their game on Gosier soil this weekend.
