Carcassonne vs Albi

Carcassonne opened in exactly the manner they had in the friendly a week earlier (won 45–19). A driving maul off a 5-metre lineout saw Yan Tabarot crash over in the 3rd minute, with captain Samuel Marques converting.

Albi responded swiftly — fly-half Romain Uruty levelled the scores in the 9th minute. But Carcassonne reasserted control through their forwards. Tabarot doubled his tally with another maul try at 15', then Marques slotted a penalty (20') to stretch the lead to 15–7.

The Tarn side lost flanker Dioné to a yellow card (21'), and Carcassonne made the extra man count. Scrum-half Samuel Marques launched a devastating 30-metre break that sent winger Maxime Gianet over in the 33rd minute to make it 20–7.

Albi refused to wilt. With Bilal Fadli in the sin-bin (30'), hooker Florian Lamothe burrowed over from close range, Uruty converted, and the visitors trailed just 20–14 at the break.

The second half was a one-way contest. Carcassonne's bench brought fresh energy — hooker Andrew Quattrin replaced Tabarot and scored twice. His first, from a 65th-minute maul, restored breathing room at 25–14. The bonus-point try came in the 76th minute: Quattrin pounced on a loose Albi lineout throw 10 metres from their own line and sprinted in, with Jérôme Bosviel converting for 32–14.

Albi failed to score in the second 40 despite spending some spells in Carcassonne territory. The home defence held firm, and two yellow cards (Fadli at 30', an unnamed front-rower at 80') proved inconsequential.

Yan Tabarot (Carcassonne) — The hooker's first-half double set the platform, both from textbook driving mauls. Named man of the match.

Andrew Quattrin (Carcassonne) — The Canadian international hooker came off the bench and bagged two second-half tries, the latter securing the bonus point.

Samuel Marques (Carcassonne) — The veteran scrum-half captained the side with composure, scoring a penalty, two conversions, and orchestrating the backline. His break set up Gianet's try.

Romain Uruty (Albi) — The visitors' brightest attacking spark, scoring one try and converting the other in a losing cause.

The raw scoreline (32–14) tells only part of the story. All five Carcassonne tries came from forwards (Tabarot 2, Quattrin 2, plus back-row involvement in the maul structure), reflecting a clear tactical focus on set-piece and driving play. Albi matched that approach in the first half — both their tries came from forwards too — but their scrum and lineout deteriorated after the interval, conceding multiple penalties that flipped field position. The yellow cards were evenly split (one each), but the second-half whitewash is the defining stat: Carcassonne 12–0 after the break.

Carcassonne sit second after round one on points difference, level on five points with Mont-de-Marsan (who thrashed Vienne 47–0). For a side targeting immediate promotion back to Pro D2, this was the ideal start. Albi, tipped by many as contenders again, have work to do following a double defeat (friendly and league) to the same opponents in eight days.

Next up — Carcassonne travel to Bourg-en-Bresse on Friday 28 August (19:30), while Albi host fellow Pro D2 relegated side Mont-de-Marsan on the same evening.

Carcassonne's forward pack, marshalled by Marques and powered by Tabarot and Quattrin, looks capable of dominating this division. Albi's failure to score in the second half is a concern, but their first-half resilience suggests they will recover. The derby flavour — this was the 14th meeting since 2013, with the sides now tied at seven wins apiece (one draw) — added edge, but Carcassonne had the greater physicality when it mattered.