Pro D2: Two roads to the top: Attack vs Defence

After three rounds, Oyonnax and Brive lead the Pro D2 in opposite ways. Oyonnax bring the division’s most explosive attack, turning home games into scoring festivals with Georgia fly‑half Luka Matkava orchestrating the show. Brive bring the best defence, built on a stable set‑piece, high tackle counts and strong completion rates that make them tough to score against.

If Oyonnax are Pro D2’s spear, Brive are its shield. Both are unbeaten promotion candidates, proving there is more than one way to top the table: one through relentless attack, the other through relentless defence.

Oyonnax:

Oyonnax have the league’s best attack by a clear margin, averaging 43.3 points per game. They have been particularly impressive at home with two 40+ scores. (47 vs Biarritz, 52 vs Aurillac). This doesn’t take anything away from their 31 points scored away at Beziers which is impressive as away wins are difficult in the Pro D2, especially against a Beziers team that have put a big investment into the squad with the likes of Malakai Fekitoa, Maka Mafileo and Luka Goginava just to name a few.

Key point in attack:

Luka Matkava, the Georgian international is the starting fly-half for the Lelos and Oyonnax and has 32 points in 3 games. The 24 year old brings Top 14 experience after a short stint at Castres in 2025 before joining Oyonnax to lead their Pro D2 attack. He has been directly involved in all of Oyonnax’s scoring through tries, conversations, penalties and try assists and managed to score two tries in the win over Biarritz.

Matkava is a rare Pro D2 10 with World Cup experience and international goal‑kicking responsibility, now running the division’s most potent attack.

Brive:

Brive are leading the statistics for the best defence, averaging 17.3 points conceded per match. They’ve conceded only 52 points in three games and have proved tough to score against. They had a narrow 23-21 victory against Valance Romans, where they conceded the most points with both their previous wins only conceding 17 and 14 points.

Defensive identity:

Brive are the only top‑three team with under 20 points conceded per match, but what makes their defensive wall so strong?

The base of their defence has come from strong set-piece. A solid scrum and competitive lineout has made it difficult for teams to get go-forward ball on first phase. Stopping the opposition from gaining momentum on first phase has been a key weapon in allowing them to put pressure on opponents attack, and turnover the ball, rather than concede pressure and leak points. This is compounded by high tackle counts and solid completion rates in their defensive sets.

Round 4:

Brive vs Aurilax

Brive's defensive ressilance will be tested against Aurillac in the round 4 opener. Aurilliac have had a poor start with two defeats and suffered a heavy loss against Oyonnox. They will head into the match hungry and desperate to get a result and host the second best team on the standings at Stade Jean-Alric which is known as a notriously difficult place to get a victory for travelling teams.

Oyonnax vs Agen

Oyyonax travel to Agen who will head into the game with momentum on their side after snapping a two match losing streak with a strong away performance defeating Grenoble 39-33. They now have the chance to announce their season against the league leaders at home.