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D. Jooste (29'), T. Vernet (36')
Tries
K. Lebreton (5', 17'), A. Newsome (24'), C. Guilly (52'), V. Karkadze (56'), K. Bloemen (58'), L. Matkava (65'), F. Joly (79')
T. Santoro (30', 37')
Conversions
L. Matkava (5', 18', 24', 52', 57', 66', 79')
Penalties
L. Matkava (14')
US Oyonnax didn’t so much outplay Narbonne as remove the parts of the game the hosts rely on. A perfect scrum and hard-nosed work in the 22 left RC Narbonne chasing shadows early, and once the cards started flying after the break, the league leaders turned a controlled win into a hiding. The scoreline is big, yes, but the method was cold and repeatable: dominate set piece, cash in, defend cleanly.
This was a lesson in pressure applied where it hurts. Oyonnax won 100% of their scrums while Narbonne managed one from five, which is not survivable at this level. Add ruthless red-zone return — 13 entries at more than four points per visit — and you’ve got the shape of the night. Narbonne’s 22 entries were fewer, and when they did get there they left points behind. Oyonnax’s defence hardly blinked, a 92% tackle rate underscoring why the hosts were feeding on scraps even with ball in hand.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The match effectively turned before it could breathe. Two strikes from Kevin Lebreton had Oyonnax 15–0 up inside 20 minutes, and when Alex Newsome finished down the left for 22–0 at 24 minutes, Narbonne were forced into chase mode. They did claw back through close-range efforts from Daniel Jooste and Thomas Vernet before the break — helped by Oyonnax’s lone yellow — but even at 14–24 the pattern hadn’t shifted. The platform battle was one-way traffic, and with it the ability to build repeat sets.
Any thought of a home surge was strangled by discipline. Two yellows in three minutes after half-time — Caleb Timu then Hugo Navizet — turned pressure into capitulation. Oyonnax didn’t admire the scenery. Cyriac Guilly punched over, Vano Karkadze arrived off the bench and scored, and Koen Bloemen followed to take the contest out of reach in a six-minute burst that said everything about the gap between these sides when one is down a man. A third card late on preceded Francois Joly icing it at the death; that’s where the margin ran away, but it didn’t come out of nowhere.
If you’re looking for the conductor, it was Luka Matkava. He set the tempo, kept the board ticking with early points, then twisted the knife with a try and a bag of conversions. That constant scoreboard pressure meant Narbonne had to play from behind their own gain line, which is exactly where Oyonnax’s line speed and chop tackling want you. Up front, Bloemen’s shift mattered as much as his try — the scrum stayed ironclad, and the maul defence was tidy enough to blunt one of the few Narbonne weapons that functioned. Lebreton’s early brace set the tone, while Newsome’s finish broke whatever was left of the hosts’ early resistance. Karkadze’s energy off the bench made sure the screw stayed turned.
Narbonne weren’t empty. Their lineout held up around 83%, and Timu’s 13 carries kept them inching into the right areas until discipline ripped those chances away. Jooste worked hard, scored one, and hit his throws. Thibault Santoro kicked what was on offer and was busy on kick return. But you can’t live with a 79% tackle completion and three yellows against this opponent; 31 missed tackles is an open door, and Oyonnax walked through it. The scrum issues were glaring — once you’re conceding feed possession and field position there, you’re playing the whole night uphill.
Does the margin flatter Oyonnax? Only in the narrow sense that Joly’s late score landed with Narbonne on their third card. The rest of it was earned. The visitors started faster, won the middle, and closed stronger. If you’re nitpicking the league leaders, their lineout at 79% will bother them on review — better sides will turn those wobbles into pressure — but they squeezed Narbonne so comprehensively elsewhere it never registered.
For Oyonnax, this keeps the unbeaten start intact and reinforces the identity that travels: set-piece certainty, relentless red-zone conversion, and a defence that doesn’t blink. That will beat most teams most weeks. For Narbonne, newly back at this level, this was the reality check. The lineout is a base to build from and there are carriers who can dent, but survival and anything more depends on repairing the scrum and cooling the penalty count. Until that’s sorted, matches like this get decided before the backs see a usable ball.
Same story, different lessons: Oyonnax leave with points and proofs; Narbonne leave with film that won’t be fun to watch — but it tells them exactly where they have to harden up to stay mid-table in Pro D2.
