Section Paloise vs Dragons Prediction & Betting Tips - Challenge Cup

Prediction published on 14/12/2023, 11:30  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 15/12/2023 at 13:14 in Challenge Cup Predictions

Round 2 in the EPCR Challenge Cup will see Section Paloise taking on Dragons RFC at Stade du Hameau on Saturday afternoon. The hosts are at the foot of the Pool 1 standings after the first round, while the visitors are in second place. Pau come into this match following a thumping 45-5 defeat to the Sharks at the Shark Tank last weekend. The Dubanites were simply too powerful as they dominated the game from the start to hand their opponents the biggest defeat of Round 1 in the competition. Despite Gregoire Arfeuil responding to an early Sharks try, the hosts on the day flexed their muscle and went into the break 24-5 in the lead and shut the door in the second period with Pau failing to score a single point. However, in Pau’s defense, they did send out an inexperienced bunch of players, and that became quickly evident against several World Cup-winning internationals. Pau will return to their home patch here, though, where they have been very good of late, unbeaten in eight straight matches. 

Meanwhile, in a thrilling encounter at Rodney Parade, Dragons RFC secured a 24-7 bonus-point victory over Oyonnax Rugby, thanks to a late burst of tries from Rio Dyer. The match remained deadlocked at seven-all until the 74th minute when the Dragons managed to break through once again. That ignited a whirlwind period, during which Dragons crossed the try line two more times to earn the maximum five points available. However, that result followed back-to-back defeats to the Sharks and Lions and was just the second victory that the Dragons have managed this season. In addition, the Welsh side are carrying a seven-match losing streak in away matches into this one, last winning on the road back in mid-January. On the positive side, though, Dai Flanagan will be grateful to welcome back Argentine scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou to the squad in this match, though it remains to be seen if he is used from the start.