Dan Carter admitted to shelving thoughts of a hot New Zealand beach as he battled driving rain and wind to lead Racing 92 to the top of the Top 14 table in a hard-fought 23-18 victory over Bordeaux-Begles.
Carter was instrumental in the win in his first Top 14 start at Stade Yves-du-Manoir in the Parisian surburb of Colombes.
While the inclement weather might have been more winter in Dunedin, New Zealand, than springtime in Paris, a smart show and give from the Kiwi playmaker set up the decisive try in the 53rd minute of a real slog of a match.
Photo: AFP
Carter burst inside Felix le Bourhis’ right shoulder and a one-handed offload found Brice Dulin, the French international fullback racing clear before passing to Alexandre Dumoulin to gift the center a try.
A conversion and three quick penalties from the World Rugby Player of the Year sealed the win, hooker Dimitri Szarzewski having scored Racing’s opening try. A total of six penalties from Simon Hickey (4) and Lionel Beauxis (2) were all a combative Bordeaux side could muster.
“I am not used to playing through Christmas and New Year. I am usually on the beach in New Zealand,” Carter said. “Last week, against Clermont, was a big game for us, but it meant nothing if we did not get the win this week. We are very happy with the win.”
Clermont moved into second spot after running out 33-16 victors over Agen, a much-needed confidence boost after two consecutive home losses.
Fast-rising flanker Camille Gerondeau scored a brace of tries to go along with a penalty try and 18 points from the boot of France flyhalf Camille Lopez, while his South African counterpart with Agen, Burton Francis, scored all of his side’s points.
“That was very complicated for us in the first half, playing against the wind,” Clermont coach Franck Azema said. “We knew it was important to keep hold of the ball, play the percentages and try to make them commit fouls.”
“We have not done anything exceptional in winning at Agen. Others have done it before us, but it was important for us to do it to stay on course. We would have liked the bonus point, but we unfortunately conceded a try,” he added.
In other games on Saturday, Montpellier, featuring 11 foreigners in their starting lineup and a further five on their eight-strong bench, were edged 19-18 by Brive.
Fiji No. 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, a veteran of three Rugby World Cup tournaments and a veritable journeyman of European clubs, was in outstanding form for Brive — the home side leapfrogging Montpellier into sixth place in a congested mid-table.
Grenoble put Oyonnax to the sword, running out 42-17 bonus-point winners, while La Rochelle broke Castres’ four-match winning streak with a battling 25-21 victory.
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