Biarritz
Colomiers
S. Vailanu (10'), I. Hiriart-Urruty (19'), D. Paia'aua (25'), A. Sacco (29'), T. Dolhagaray (49'), M. Dawai (75')
Tries
T. Larrieu (33'), T. Pedemons (80')
T. Dolhagaray (11', 19', 25', 76')
Conversions
T. Debaes (34', 81')
Penalties
T. Giral (13', 22')
This told us that Biarritz Olympique at Aguilera know exactly who they are. Direct carries, quick recycle, repeat. Once they imposed that rhythm, a fragile, winless Colomiers Rugby didn’t have the confidence or the tools to drag the game back onto their terms.
The pattern was established early and never really broke. Biarritz’s forwards went straight down Main Street, winning the gain line and clearing past it, which let the half-backs keep ruck speed high. With front-foot ball, the backline didn’t need to be cute; they just kept the pressure on a defence that was already scrambling. Colomiers, coming in off a wobble, reacted rather than dictated and the night slipped away from them before the half-hour.
That opening Sione Vailanu finish from close range wasn’t just first blood, it was the blueprint. Heavy traffic near the posts, accuracy in the cleanout, ball on a plate. The numbers back it up: early ruck tempo was Biarritz’s, because they were dominant after contact. From there Colomiers chased the game. They took three through Théo Giral twice, but scoreboard pressure mounted as Paolo Parpagiola went to the bin and Iban Hiriart-Urruty struck immediately. Two more first-half tries followed off the same themes — direct carries from the tight five and back row, patient phases in the red zone — and the contest had a shape: Biarritz dictating, Colomiers clinging.
What made it stick was the blend. Yann Lesgourgues kept the tempo high, Thomas Dolhagaray played flat and was happy to carry himself, and the pack kept delivering front-foot. Vailanu punched holes all night, Andrea Sacco was busy around the edges, and Hiriart-Urruty’s throwing gave them a clean set-piece platform. Out the back, Kylian Jaminet and Nicolas Elissondo kept Colomiers turning, then cut when the defence folded in. The result was volume and territory: more ball, more carries, more stress on a defence racking up tackles.
Match Stats
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Colomiers’ best spell brought a try for Thomas Larrieu to keep a flicker alive before the break, but too much else was off. The lineout faltered, costing them launch plays and field position. The breakdown was second best; Biarritz were faster both to the floor and through it. The early change at fly-half — Thibault Debaes for Giral on 24 — didn’t settle the shape, and with Pierre-Emmanuel Pacheco also yellowed in the final quarter, any hope of building phases disappeared. The tackle count tells its own story: Luka Plataret led a huge defensive shift, and Séamus Bardoul worked himself into the ground, but they were fire-fighting rather than dictating collisions. When you’re defending that much and losing the lineout, you don’t control anything.
The margin doesn’t flatter Biarritz. If anything, the dead-time score for Théo Pedemons softened it. Six tries to two reflects the gulf in control. There are still work-ons for the hosts: discipline wavered at times, they conceded entries that kept Colomiers in touch longer than they should have, and they’ll want a tidier penalty picture and fewer soft turnovers against better sides. But this was a clear, repeatable identity on show — the same confidence we saw in Round 1 at Aguilera — and Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy’s whistle never really shifted momentum away from them.
For Colomiers, there are fixes and they’re not cosmetic. Sort the lineout or stop kicking to the corner; at 69% you can’t build a maul game. Clean the ruck to get quicker ball, because their attack never felt like it was stressing Biarritz outside the first receiver. And cut the cards: playing a quarter of the match a man down is a tax a winless side can’t afford. The individual effort was there — Plataret’s 24 tackles underline that — but effort isn’t a plan.
What next? Biarritz move on with a blueprint that will travel if their discipline holds and the set piece stays at Hiriart-Urruty’s level. Dolhagaray’s control and the carrying threat of Vailanu, Sacco and Johnny Dyer give them a reliable way to seize the pace of a match. Colomiers have Dax on the horizon and need to treat it as a reset: pick a 10 and back him, rebuild confidence through cleaner contact and better basics at the lineout. Until they win collisions and protect the ball, they’ll keep chasing nights like this one.