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Agen humiliated by Lyon, La Rochelle go top

By Alex Fisher
Lyon celebrate victory over Agen

Agen’s return to the Top 14 plumbed new depths on Saturday as they were thrashed 71-17 by Lyon, leaving coach Mauricio Reggiardo humiliated.

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The south-west side have only won five of their 16 matches since promotion from the second tier, their latest clash an 11th reverse of the campaign as they remain in the bottom two.

Lyon were rampant at Stade Gerland as they ran in four tries in the opening 40 minutes, and they refused to let up with another 43 points after the break.

Across the 80 minutes Lyon touched down 10 times, with Baptiste Couilloud scoring a hat-trick and Lionel Beauxis finishing with 20 points.

That left Reggiardo in apologetic mood after full-time, he told reporters: “I feel humiliated, Lyon humiliated us, I apologise to the supporters, volunteers and families who support us.”

La Rochelle moved above Montpellier at the top of the table with a 33-24 victory over struggling Brive, tries from Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Eliott Roudil and Jason Eaton sealing the win.

Brive threatened a comeback in the second half but La Rochelle were able to hang on and get back to winning ways after a draw with bottom side Oyonnax in their previous Top 14 outing.

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Racing 92 are level on points with La Rochelle after an 18-13 victory over Castres.

There was nothing to split the teams after 40 minutes, but a second-half try from Juan Imhoff – back from a five-week suspension – and a penalty from Teddy Iribaren secured a narrow win for Racing.

Toulon ended a run of three successive league defeats with a six-try triumph over Bordeaux-Begles, Semi Radradra with a brace.

Even the dismissal of Josua Tuisova for a high tackle on Blair Connor in the 33rd minute could not stop Toulon getting the win.

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Meanwhile, last-place Oyonnax’s winless streak stretched to 13 league matches as they were beaten 37-15 by Toulouse.

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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