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B. Abescat (20')
Tries
R. Bellemand (25'), J. Danglot (71')
Conversions
T. Giral (26'), T. Debaes (72')
S. Davies (16', 32', 46', 48', 63', 67')
Penalties
T. Giral (13', 53')
This was another confirmation of what we already know about Grenoble in this block: they are comfortable living on a knife edge at the Stade des Alpes. They win tight, not pretty. And they’re getting used to seeing Sam Davies’ boot do the heavy lifting while the forwards keep the set piece tidy enough to control the last quarter.
It also told us that Colomiers have stiffened. After a rough start to the season and a cuffing in Brive, they hung in a one-score contest away and finished with a punch. The problem is the same as it has been: when the game asks for accuracy at the set piece and discipline in their own third, they blink. Do that in Grenoble and you leave with a losing bonus instead of points to climb the table.
The game swung because Grenoble owned the nuts-and-bolts moments and Colomiers didn’t. The hosts were at 86% on their lineout and 75% on scrum success; the visitors sputtered at 55% and 44% respectively. That’s not a backdrop, that’s the plot. Grenoble leaned on a steady throw from Bastien Soury and the composure of Fergus Lee-Warner in the air to exit cleanly and park themselves in kickable range, where Davies kept ticking the board. Colomiers’ misfires – five lost lineouts and a creaking scrum – denied them platforms when they actually had front-foot ball.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Look at the scoring shape and it’s obvious. Grenoble scored only one try, through Baptiste Abescat on 20 minutes, finished after Nadir Megdoud snapped the edge, then took the pragmatic road. Six Davies penalties did the rest. That’s not champagne rugby; it is, however, a functioning scoreboard strategy in Pro D2 when your set piece and defence are behaving. And for the most part they were. Lee-Warner made 19 tackles, Otunuku Pauta carried hard off nine, and Davies controlled the tramlines. They still fluffed plenty – 16 turnovers coughed up, and 22 missed tackles – but at home they know how to ride that out.
The pivotal passage came just after the break. At 11-10 at half, Grenoble came out, forced two penalties on back-to-back field positions and Davies nudged them to 17-10. Colomiers stayed in touch through Théo Giral’s boot but then undid themselves. Two yellow cards – Robin Bellemand on 51 minutes and sub prop Guillaume Tartas on 62 – turned a tight scrap into a two-score lead without Grenoble having to play much. Davies punished both infringements, stretching it to 23-13 by 67. That was the cushion they were playing for all night.
Colomiers’ late try through Jules Danglot on 71 showed the improved resilience that’s crept back into their game. They actually shaded possession, won more turnovers and beat more defenders. Richard Hardwick was the best carrier on the field with 90 metres from 16 rumbles, Luka Plataret topped their tackle count and teed up Bellemand’s first-half try. The shape wasn’t the issue. The issue was the fundamentals: limp lineout ball when camped in the Grenoble half, a scrum that coughed penalties, and a tighthead who combined a try with five concessions and a card. You can play attractive phase rugby for 70 minutes and still lose away if your anchor points let you down.
Does the margin flatter Grenoble? Not really. It reflects the way they choose to play right now. They manufacture a lead through territory and the tee, then trust their defence to bend, not break. It’s the same script as the 20-17 win here in Round 5 and the 20-17 reverse at Montauban earlier: arm-wrestle, nudge ahead, hang on. The concern is obvious too. With the ball they’re not sharp enough in the red zone to land the punch that kills the contest. One try at home and a stack of turnovers won’t keep working against the top three, and they invited pressure late that a better set-piece side would cash.
For Colomiers, context matters. They were 13th coming in, they’ve been leaky on the road, and last time here they ran riot 39-17. This was a different type of effort: tougher, tighter, but lacking the composure of that spring run. The bench helped – Danglot and Thibault Debaes sharpened them up – and they finished the stronger team. But you don’t win in Grenoble with a 55% lineout and two yellows. Fix those, and the resilience they showed will finally be worth more than a pat on the back and a single point.
Grenoble take four points and move up the chase pack, still defined by fine margins and Davies’ metronome. They’ll know Brive won’t gift as many scrums or throws, so the attack has to add something more than pressure and penalties. Colomiers leave with proof they can live for 80 away again. Now they need to turn that into a home result next week, with the set piece cleaned up and the whistle out of the picture. Otherwise they’ll keep admiring their resilience from the wrong end of the table.
