Angoulême produced a emphatic 45:7 victory over Montauban in Pro D2 on Thursday evening. The hosts dominated from the opening whistle, putting their attacking game on full display at home. Montauban struggled to find any rhythm against a side that looked determined to make a statement. The final score reflected a complete mismatch between two teams on very different trajectories.
Angoulême sit ninth in the Pro D2 table after 30 games, with 13 wins and 59 points on their tally. That record shows a team capable of consistent results, even if their 17 defeats tell the fuller story. Montauban's visitors came into this fixture needing to prove something after a mixed recent run. The gap in quality showed through in the scoreline, with Angoulême controlling proceedings throughout.
What struck watching this match was how quickly Angoulême established their superiority. They scored at will, finding space where Montauban's defence seemed disorganised and slow to react. Montauban barely got into any meaningful positions, spending most of the game defending and trying to limit the damage. And here's the thing — this wasn't a game that should have gone this one-sided on paper.
We had backed Montauban to win, with 95 per cent confidence in our analysis. The prediction proved spectacularly wrong, as Angoulême turned in one of their most convincing performances of the season. Montauban simply had nothing to do all evening, unable to impose themselves in any phase of play. The visitors looked out of their depth from start to finish.
Looking at recent form, Angoulême came into this fixture on the back of mixed results. Their last outing saw a 22:39 defeat to Val Romans, but before that they beat Colomieu 38:26. Montauban's recent record showed even more inconsistency, including heavy losses to Pau and Rochelais. This result suggests Angoulême finally found the right formula at home.