Franck Azéma, what is your first reaction after this defeat against Montpellier?
It hurts because we were beaten for over 80 minutes. It hurts because you bring your fans here. I’m ashamed. Montpellier beat us up, they beat us up constantly. Every collision was lost, every scrum was lost. All the static phases were lost. We lost territory, we lost possession. Nothing is positive tonight. We came up against someone stronger than us. When you have so many shortcomings, I take responsibility for it. When you make a mistake on one aspect, you can say to yourself tactically, we made a mistake on that. Tonight, we were poor in everything that represents the identity of our club. And so, that’s why it hurts.
Were there any signs during the week?
No, not really. The boys worked hard in intensity. Afterwards, data is not everything. In the confrontation, on the ferocity that you can put into the commitment, Montpellier was stronger. Today, from the touchline, from the scrum, from the defense, from the kicking game, we were never dominant in our team. We were never able to overwhelm Montpellier. We had a strong moment, in the second half, which lasted 4 minutes, that’s all.
You didn’t capitalize on your strong moments at the end of the first half, is that a turning point?
They were in place physically, mentally. They were seeking revenge compared to last season, it was felt especially in those phases. Near the lines, they never gave up. We hit the wall and we bounced back. We weren’t able to break the wall and go into it. We didn’t manage to get the supporters who all came to Béziers excited. That’s it, of course, it’s frustrating.
We need to bounce back quickly because next week it’s Castres and the financial results are not good…
The championship is like that, we are on the second day. It is a test every weekend. If we are not ready to take on this type of challenge, you suffer it. We suffered it today.
Every weekend, it’s war. Last week, we could have taken points. We brought back one. Now, this week, zero. So, in accounting terms, I know it’s not good. And in terms of the result, this week it’s zero.
A match which also left its mark (injuries to Lam, Allan, Devaux and Crossdale)…
When you get your ass kicked, you don’t come out of a match like that unscathed. I’m not surprised to have some damage tonight, we were dominated. It’s a pressure sport. You either move forward or you move backward. And we only moved backward today. This defeat is for me because there are too many negative things.
- RMC Sport
