Valence Romans extended their home winning streak on Saturday, narrowly defeating Béziers 8-0 in a match characterized by uncharacteristic errors and a staunch defensive effort.The win – played before a crowd of approximately 3,000 at the Stade du Pompidou – marks a crucial start to the new year for the Drôme club as they continue to compete in the Rugby Nationale league.Despite the victory, head coach fabien Fortassin openly acknowledged the team’s subpar performance, emphasizing the importance of securing the four points regardless of style.
Valence Romans secured a hard-fought victory over Béziers in a scrappy match at Pompidou, adding to their strong start to the season.
“You have to know how to win ugly in a season,” Valence Romans manager Fabien Fortassin stated ahead of the team’s return to home competition against Béziers. His prediction proved accurate, and perhaps even an understatement. Despite conditions being better than anticipated, the Drôme team delivered what Fortassin called their worst performance of the season, plagued by errors and a lack of finishing in key areas. “Frankly, there isn’t much to take away. It was a winter-like match. We managed to win ugly, very ugly even. What I told the guys is that this match is worth just as much as our euphoric win in Grenoble – it’s worth four points. We continue to move forward. I think it was important to kick off the year by re-establishing a winning dynamic. Not much will be remembered from this match. I think it will be quickly forgotten by many, if not everyone. We continue to keep Pompidou undefeated, and our opponents leave with zero points. Though tonight, it was more their fault than ours. There are very few things to remember, but I want to believe this will be a blessing in disguise,” Fortassin acknowledged with candor.
A Resilient Defense
The first points of the contest didn’t come until the final minute of the first half, with a try from Thomas Rozière following a well-executed counterattack sparked by a powerful run from Georgian Ilia Spanderashvili (5-0, 39th minute). The second half continued in a similar vein. The only bright spot for Valence Romans was their defense. The home side never yielded in the rucks and consistently answered the call in physical play, with strong performances from Ryan McCauley and Louis Suaud. This staunch defense prevented Béziers from scoring a try immediately after the break, forcing an early knock-on from Samuel Marques (43rd minute).
A penalty kick from Lucas Méret provided some breathing room for a struggling VRDR late in the match (8-0, 69th minute). “The guys fought hard and gave it their all. There was inevitably a lack of rhythm due to the 15-day break. We felt players were a bit worn down, tongues were hanging out, and we were often on our knees trying to recover. We were still fairly effective in the scrum, lineout, and defense, but we lacked a spark to add some flair, increase the score, and allow ourselves to loosen up. We stayed far too long in a tight 5-0 game, with shaky knees. But it’s worth four points. We know we’ll have better days, and this victory allows us to continue moving forward calmly.”
