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L. Richardis (2'), H. Bouyssou (20'), I. Etcheverry (59'), J. Soulan (76')
Tries
B. Ezcurra (39'), B. Farrance (41'), C. Martinez (70')
J. Soulan (3', 20', 60', 76')
Conversions
F. Asquini (39', 42'), M. Ortolan (70')
Penalties
F. Asquini (27')
This didn’t look like ninth versus fourteenth. It looked like a promoted Nissa side with enough zip and craft to trouble anyone, and a home Agen outfit riding last week’s confidence but having to lean on their set piece and their 10 to close out a proper contest. The gap between them was inches, not rungs.
The difference, in the end, was control at the moments that decide games. Agen’s lineout was tidier, their exit work sounder, and when the final red-zone shot came, Jules Soulan had the composure and the footwork to finish and then nail the kick. Nissa carried more threat in the loose and asked more questions with ball in hand, but a yellow on 71 minutes, just after taking the lead, handed momentum straight back. You don’t get away with that at Armandie, not when the home 10 is 4/4 off the tee and sniffing a winner.
There was an early clue as to where this would be decided. Even with Nissa’s scramble defence holding well for long periods, Agen’s restarts and touch-finders kept swinging the game back into the visitors’ half. Eight of nine throws hit, maul launches that forced backpedalling defenders, and a scrum that never cracked — small edges that add up to territory, and territory that adds up to points. When Nissa were down a man in the first quarter, Agen translated that control into a 14-0 cushion rather than three. In a one-score game, that matters.
What kept it live was how sharp Nissa were when the game broke up. Boris Goutard ran from deep with intent and selection, Hanru Sirgel punched hard past the gain line, and Bautista Ezcurra picked his lines well off quick rucks. They found the edges and won collisions in the tramlines. They also pinched five turnovers and missed very little in the tackle, which is why, after striking around the break, they were able to tilt the scoreboard and ask Agen to chase again.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
And yet, the swing that really told was discipline under pressure. Agen blinked first when Valentin Gayraud sat down, and Nissa rightly rammed home with a close-range finish from Clément Martinez. But the visitors immediately handed parity back with a yellow of their own to replacement prop Fabio Gonzalez. From there, Agen reverted to type: clean lineout, tidy multi-phase, keep it tight until the defence narrows, then let the decision-maker go. Soulan didn’t overplay; he took what was on, backed his carry, and the extras were never in doubt.
If you’re looking for why Agen edged it, start with Soulan. Thirteen points, a game-winning intervention, and no cheap exits kicked dead when the ground got noisy. Around him, Iban Etcheverry was their sharpest runner, beating his man off kick receipts and finishing with the kind of economy that speaks to form. Inside, Kolinio Ramoka gave them the hard carries that steady a set after a poor cleanout, the sort of five-metre wins that don’t headline but set a platform. Up front, Santiago Socino delivered a reliable throw under stress and hit 14 tackles, while back-row pair Enzo Serieyssol and Damien Bozic topped the count and kept Nissa’s latch clearers honest. It wasn’t flawless — 15 turnovers and 11 penalties is too much charity — but when it mattered they were clinical.
Nissa will feel this one. They beat 17 defenders, were more accurate defensively, and their bench gave them punch. Beau Farrance changed tempo when he arrived; Ezcurra’s late-first-half score flipped belief; and with the lineout largely functioning, they had enough ball to win. The issue is sequencing, not substance: an avoidable yellow in the first quarter that fed Agen’s early buffer, and another at the death that killed their chance to squeeze the clock with field position. Throw in a couple of lineout wobbles in their own half and you have the thin slivers that separate a losing bonus from a famous away win.
Does the margin flatter the winners? No. Four points feels about right when one side kicks all its goals, edges the set piece and wins the decisive penalty race in the final minutes. But it also says plenty about Nissa’s ceiling. They were good enough to drag the game back twice, and dangerous enough in phase play that Armandie tightened up. That travels.
For Agen, that’s two on the bounce after the 38–7 in Nevers and a different kind of tick: not a runaway, but a match they had to think their way through. The work-ons aren’t subtle — clean up the discipline, be neater at the breakdown, and stop coughing up cheap ball — but the chassis looks sound and they’re learning to close. For Nissa, the takeaway is just as clear. They belong at this level, and their attack profile will win them matches, but they have to stay at 15 in the minutes that count. Solve that, and nights like this start tipping their way.
