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Professional rugby in France continues with the second division, the Pro D2 seeing week 2 of the season taking place from Thursday to Sunday. Week 1 saw wins for Mont de Marsan, Béziers, Montauban, Biarritz, Bayonne, Colomiers, and Aurillac. In Week 2 there are to be RWC hopefuls involved for two North American countries as well as Uruguay.
In week 2 last season’s Top 14 competitors Brive and Oyonnax will both be chasing their opening wins of the season. Their respective defeats came against Bayonne and Aurillac and they indicate that the 2018-2019 season will be highly unpredictable.
Opening Week 2 will be Montauban vs Biarritz. In the only Thursday fixture two former Top 14 sides will battle it out in a match between teams with legitimate chances of earning promotion back to France’s elite level.
The Pro D2 will enter overload on Friday with six matches. Up first is Aix en Provence at home against Aurillax. Argentina and the USA are both to be represented with Leandro Mario Assi on the bench for Aix en Provence and Christian Ostberg on Aurillac’s bench.
Starting for Charente on Friday will be Joel Scvali. The 24-year old uncapped Argentine will start the match against Carcassonne at Tight Head prop. Meanwhile neighboring Colomiers play away to Brive, doing so with former Pumas hooker Agustín Costa Repetto starting at hooker and uncapped Argentine Martín Chiappessoni at flanker.
In central France a battle of former Fédérale 1 teams sees Nevers at home against Bourg en Bresse. Canadians will have to tune in to keep an eye on Conor Trainor. He starts at outside center, the same position likely to see him involved in for Canada in the RWC qualifiers in November. Argentine Victor Damian Arias starts at Tight Head against Trainor’s club.
The remaining Friday fixture is Oyonnax at home against Vannes. USA Eagles prop Eric Fry has been named as Vannes’ replacement Loose Head. Argentine Javier Lagioiosa is to also feature as a replacements, covering lock.
Week 2 comes to a close on Sunday. Bayonne play host to Mont de Marsan in a classic French south-west derby. Line-ups for the match are not to be confirmed until Saturday afternoon. Involved in week 1 was Uruguayan Agustín Ormaechea in addition to Argentine players Leandro Cedaro, Carlos Muzzio, and Jerónimo Negrotto. Cedaro played no 8 despite being a second-rower. He is capped by Italy.
