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T. Kerr-Barlow (32'), J. Ward (45'), J. Scelzo (60'), T. Motassi (68'), L. Peyresblanques (79')
Tries
I. Masi (25')
L. Carbonel (46', 60', 79')
Conversions
L. Berdeu (26')
Penalties
L. Berdeu (14')
This told us two things that matter in September. First, Stade Français Paris can still squeeze a contender at Jean-Bouin when the edge returns to their set piece and defence. Second, early-season leaders Lyon are irresistible with front-foot ball, but away from home they’re one bout of indiscipline from looking very ordinary.
The Paris response after Bordeaux wasn’t about fireworks; it was about control. Stade owned the touchline, bossed territory for long stretches and, crucially, kept their heads while Lyon lost theirs. The margin was padded by a late score, but the game was already broken by then because Lyon spent the key 15 minutes defending with 14 men and couldn’t trust their lineout when they finally got the ball back.
If you’re looking for where it turned, look at the two yellow cards in quick succession. Baptiste Couilloud went on 55 minutes, Beka Saginadze followed three minutes later. Two leaders off the field, and Stade immediately cashed in. The try from replacement prop Juan Scelzo on the hour was classic Jean-Bouin rugby: pressure piling up through the lineout and tight carries, patience rather than panic, points on the board. Once Lyon were chasing, Paris could play the corners and force more defensive sets. The bench then finished the job with Thibaut Motassi plundering one and Lucas Peyresblanques adding the gloss at the death.
Stade’s shape with ball wasn’t flawless — they coughed up plenty in contact — but they kept asking the right questions. Tawera Kerr-Barlow was busy and sharp around the ruck, sniping for the first try and constantly shifting Lyon’s fringe defenders. Nineteen carries and two offloads from the nine kept Stade on the gain line even when the initial carry stalled. Outside him, Louis Carbonel kicked his goals and, more importantly, managed exits and tempo better than in Bordeaux. Jeremy Ward ran hard, finished after the break and was tidy defensively on a day where field position mattered more than flourish.
The heavy lifting came up front. Giacomo Nicotera hit 17 throws before making way, Stade finished 20 from 23, and that reliability unlocked their maul and phase strike near the line. Paul Gabrillagues and the back row kept the air clean; any Lyon wobble at the set piece was punished with more possession and another shove back into their 22. Tanginoa Halaifonua carted 19 times and never stopped denting the line. The scrum wasn’t dominant — more on that below — but it didn’t need to be given how rarely Lyon escaped their half for long.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Those numbers frame Lyon’s afternoon. Two yellows and 10 penalties conceded from the visitors, 214 tackles made, and a lineout at 73% once the bench came on. They still had moments: Iosefo Masi cut them in front before half-time with the kind of clean break that’s fuelled their fast start, and Monty Ioane beat defenders when he finally saw ball. But the platform vanished. When Guillaume Marchand departed and throws started to go awry, any chance to flip momentum disappeared. Even the scrum edge — Lyon were the more efficient there — couldn’t change the flow because set-piece wins were isolated and coughed up by the next error.
Individually, several Lyon forwards emptied the tank — Marvin Okuya, Saginadze and Antoine Deliance were into the twenties for tackles — which is exactly the problem. You don’t want your tight five racking up that load in Paris; it means you’re trapped without relief. Léo Berdeu took the early points and kicked his goals but didn’t get the field position to lean on his kicking game after the break. And Couilloud’s card was costly. Lyon’s tempo dies without him on the rope, and it showed.
Does 31–10 flatter Stade? A touch, because Peyresblanques’ late try stretched it. But the winning pattern was clear long before then. Stade’s error count was higher than you’d like and their scrum success needs attention — it won’t be 50% most weeks without biting them — yet they allowed only four penalties, strangled Lyon’s exits and converted three times from close range off sustained pressure. That’s repeatable at home.
For Paris, this is more than catharsis after Bordeaux; it’s a reminder of their route map. Trust the lineout, squeeze the red zone, let Kerr-Barlow and Carbonel steer the middle third, and let the bench raise the pace against tiring packs. The template travels if the scrum firms up and the ball protection tightens.
For Lyon, it’s a reality check rather than a derailment. Their attack still has teeth — the defenders beaten tally says as much — but they can’t spend an hour tackling in Paris and expect to live with it. Shore up the lineout after changes, park the discipline — Couilloud and Saginadze can’t both be off when the match is live — and their early-season form will hold. Jean-Bouin has been unforgiving in this fixture for years; they were reminded why.
