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P. Yato (49'), T. Forner (59'), L. McGrath (70')
Tries
N. Hulleu (55'), W. Benedittis (63')
A. Aucagne (49', 59', 71')
Conversions
M. Lafage (55')
This told us that USA Perpignan can still win a relegation fight the old-fashioned way. Keep it tight, control the last quarter, and make the bottom side chase a game they don’t quite know how to finish. At Aimé-Giral they didn’t chase headlines; they choked the air out of the contest when it mattered.
It also told us what we already suspected about RC Vannes. They can play themselves to the edge of something, but not across the line. Eight visits to the 22 for the same 1.5 points per entry as USAP, and still no sense they could land the decisive blows. That’s a pattern now, not a blip.
USAP’s plan was pragmatic and, in this context, smart. With the table squeezing beneath them, they welcomed pieces back and opted for control over chaos. A goalless first 40 wasn’t pretty but it served the aim: keep Vannes from belief, keep the crowd in it, then turn the screw. The screw arrived in the final 10 minutes, when Perpignan hogged the ball and played the game in Vannes territory; the visitors scarcely touched it and never built a last surge.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The turning began earlier than the clock suggests. The middle third was all squeeze: penalties around the restart, field-position trades, then impact from the USAP bench. Peceli Yato smashed through on 49 minutes, a straightening carry that finally bent the gain line after an hour of sparring. Vannes hit back through the lively Nathanaël Hulleu and again via replacement hooker Wayan De Benedittis, but even at 14–12 on 65 minutes it felt like Perpignan had their hands round the contest. The key moment was discipline: Matteo Desjeux’s yellow at 67 minutes stripped Vannes of line speed and numbers, and three minutes later Luke McGrath iced the only clean break that truly counted.
From there it was strangulation. The live numbers back it up — USAP owned roughly four-fifths of the ball in the final 10. More important than volume was where they used it. Kicks were nudged into touch rather than chased, exits were tidy, and the ruck temperature stayed low. That’s game management, not romance, and it’s exactly what a home side targeting separation from the bottom should do.
Within that framework, a few individuals mattered. Théo Forner was the sharpest attacker on the pitch, taking his try well and creating another with precise timing, plus 70-odd metres that actually bent defenders rather than padded a GPS. Antoine Aucagne was tidy off the tee and sensible in the backfield. Up front, the defensive output of Enzo Forletta, Victor Montgaillard and Lucas Velarte (all 15 tackles) anchored the red-zone stands that have quietly become a USAP strength; seven turnovers won underline those moments. The scrum held at 100% and gave them clean exits when they needed them.
There are work-ons, and they’re not minor. Perpignan’s lineout was unreliable, coughing up five throws, and nine entries for just 1.5 points per entry is profligate in any league. Seventeen turnovers conceded kept Vannes in the argument longer than they should have been. Against better sides, that looseness turns wins into nervous finishes.
For Vannes, the story is familiar and infuriating. They manufactured more possession overall and, for stretches, quicker ball — their 0–3s ruck share edged USAP — which should have stressed a defence. Hulleu was a constant threat in the tramlines with three clean breaks and 77 metres, while Pierre Boudehent punched holes at 12. The pack worked; Sione Kalamafoni made 23 tackles, Eric Marks 19. Their lineout was near-perfect. On paper, there’s enough there to win away.
But they keep tripping over the same hurdles. Three scrums lost stripped them of platforms at bad moments. They coughed up 20 turnovers, several in the red zone, and Boudehent’s four giveaways tell a tale about decision-making when the line is in sight. The yellow card at 67 minutes was soft and ill-timed. And in the closing passage, they had no way to get the ball back — no contestable kicking pressure that stuck, no choke-tackle plan, no field position gambit. This is how you leave Aimé-Giral with nothing after scoring two second-half tries.
Context matters. USAP came into Round 6 looking at Vannes as the side they must keep beneath them. They picked a side to control rather than dazzle and executed the last quarter with clarity. That’s a blueprint they can trust again, even if they’ll know the attack needs to finish more of what the defence earns. Vannes head home with the same lesson they’ve been handed all month: front-foot passages don’t count unless you cash them in, and with the table hardening, game management in minutes 70–80 has to become a habit, not a hope.
