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N. Leatigaga (21'), B. Daguerre (34'), J. Naseara (59')
Tries
S. Idoumi (12', 53')
R. Seguy (22', 35', 60')
Conversions
J. Moura (12', 54')
R. Seguy (31', 77')
Penalties
J. Moura (67', 75')
This said more about resilience than sparkle. After shipping 65 at Aurillac a week ago, US Dax needed to show they could tighten the screw at home. They did, mostly through set-piece accuracy and a willingness to keep carrying until something gave. It wasn’t pretty, and seven points felt a narrow return for so much ball, but it was a grown-up response.
Valence Romans Drôme made it a grind by tackling themselves to a standstill and taking points whenever Dax blinked. They were never out of it, even when chasing two scores at the hour. But they spent the night absorbing rather than imposing and, away from a couple of close-range finishes, lacked the gain-line presence to turn pressure into tries.
The pivot moments were the cards. At 21 minutes, with Valence 7-0 up, Joris Dupont went to the bin. Dax immediately banked seven: Nephi Leatigaga smashed over and Romuald Seguy converted. That swung momentum and belief. Dax’s composure on restart and their clean lineout—10 straight throws hit by Louis Barrere before he was replaced—let them build repeat entries. A Seguy penalty and a sharp finish from Bastien Daguerre from front-foot ball made it 17-7 at the break, a margin built as much on structure as ambition.
The wobble came on 50 minutes when Ratu Nacika was binned. Valence didn’t waste that invitation: Sacha Idoumi got his second from close in and Joris Moura clipped the extras. 17-14, the crowd edgy, the game back in the balance. The key passage followed. Still a man down, Dax’s bench delivered. Jope Naseara arrived and, after a rare clean set off first phase, finished the one attack Dax absolutely had to finish. Seguy’s kick pushed it to 24-14 and, psychologically, that mattered more than just seven points. Valence never led again.
If you’re looking for why the scoreboard stayed tight, look to accuracy. Dax dominated carry volume and broke tackles, but 18 turnovers kept dragging them back into the trench. Their pack won the platform—12/12 lineouts, parity at scrum—but too often a forced offload or an isolated carry invited Valence back to the ball. At the other end, Moura’s penalties on 67 and 75 rewarded discipline and kept the game within a score before Seguy answered on 77 to make it safe.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The numbers match the eye. Dax’s back three repeatedly bent the line—Naim Ben Alla cut three clean breaks and 62 metres, while Théo Duprat added three offloads from the back—and Daguerre was excellent on both sides of the ball, 11 tackles to go with 44 metres carried. In tight, Paul Ausset gave them hard yards at No.8. It all added up to territorial pressure, even if the finishing touch was inconsistent. The one constant piece of quality was Seguy’s management; 12 points from the tee on a night when his side badly needed someone to close doors rather than open windows.
Valence’s best work was without the ball. Hugo Descube made 17 tackles, Gareth Milasinovich 15, and the back row kept folding back inside to slow rucks just enough. Idoumi’s brace showed their nose near the line, and Moura’s calm from the tee (10 points) was the reason they were alive at 75 minutes. But they beat only four defenders all evening and produced just two clean breaks. When their route-one didn’t dent Dax, they didn’t have much else; too much was asked of kick returns and scraps at the breakdown. The Dupont yellow was costly as well, handing Dax their entry to the game at precisely the wrong time.
There are caveats for the winners. Nacika’s card changed the temperature and his ledger—three penalties, five turnovers conceded—speaks to decision-making as much as aggression. The same applies across the pack: plenty of industry, not enough care. Against a side that carries more threat in phase play than Valence did here, that looseness will bite.
Context matters. Dax lost to this opponent at Boyau in May and arrived off a thrashing; this time they controlled the nuts and bolts and trusted their defence when the game pinched late. That’s a real step. For Valence, the defensive steel that hammered Angoulême last week travelled, but their attack didn’t. They can live off mazy home momentum, but away from Drôme they’ll need more than bravery in contact and a reliable hooker finish.
Take it simply: Dax found enough control to earn the win they had to have and showed there’s a pragmatic side to their early-season fireworks. Valence won’t mind the losing bonus given how little they had of the ball, but they can’t keep making that many tackles and expect to climb the table. One side learned how to close; the other was reminded they need more ways to open.
