Saint-Domingue 0-8 Savojarna: Poor Attacking Display as Savojarna Battle to Victory
HT 0-8
A narrow defeat to Savojarna gave Saint-Domingue their first defeat in Group E.
Saint-Domingue struggled to begin and a series of loose balls highlighted how the side was lacking in fluidity. The disruption was made worse when both Fouché and Amalfitano complained of problems around twenty minutes in, forcing Les Oranges into some early changes - though by that stage they were already behind.
Savojarna went left down the blindside, REDACTED kicked on and REDACTED gathered before finding the winger on his outside shoulder to record the opening (and only) try of the match.
Saint-Domingue struggled to get on the front foot and never realistically looked like hitting back, despite the conversion miss giving them a good opportunity to chase the game. Les hommes de Noël spent much of the game pinned back and though they could offer a spirited rearguard display, never got going to reward the efforts of the backline. A penalty around half an hour in already had Savojarna looking out of sight.
The Dominguan held tight for the final forty and battled hard to prevent any opportunities being crafted. But with the team already down by eight they could not find anything to get points on the board.
Considering the style in which Savojarna had demolished newboys Quebec in gameweek one, it is difficult to be overly disappointed in the Saint-Domingue performance. Savjorna are the 16th-best team in the world and can boast an array of attacking talent - as highlighted by the tries they scored past Quebec - and for Les Oranges to restrict their opponents to so few openings must earn them some plaudits even if they could not score themselves. Such a narrow loss is still disappointing however, particularly when a winning margin by just one fewer point would have earned Saint-Domingue a bonus point. But to come away from a test with one of the world top sides relatively unscathed and even disappointed to not earn a point or more, it is sign that Saint-Domingue may indeed have a future on the world rugby stage.
Lineup:
Clichy
LeRoy
Lefèvre
Fournier
Kyungu <- Hauet 74'
Cocu
Bonnet <- Belanger 53'
Garde
Roux <- Allais 59'
Onana
Crépin <- Naudé 53'
Lambert <- Lortie 59'
Fouché <- Saint-Yves 20'
Montanier <- Nkonko 59'
Amalfitano <- Besson 20'
Saint-Domingue: N/A
Savojarna: Try: REDCACTED 15'
Pen: (1/1) REDCATED 32'
Venue: Awha Arena, Jata, Nevorn Island