TEverything is said on the poster for the Union Bordeaux-Bègles: Saturday December 21, in Castres (9:05 p.m.). Météo-France even adds its little touch with a few showers and 9 degrees forecast. Perfect. The ideal match to hear about the forwards. That’s good, it’s the wish of those at UBB: “We are keen to show that we work every week even if we have a little difficulty and that we are here! That it’s not just the three-quarters, we also want to shine,” says left pillar Ugo Boniface.
Except that for the moment, the desire is not enough, at least in the championship. The runner-up from Stade Toulousain quite simply has the most penalized scrum in the Top 14 since the start of the season (28). He is in 7th place in terms of lost scrums and is only second to last when it comes to putting the opposing pack in difficulty with only 6 penalties caused. Insufficient for a team whose ambitions rise towards the Brennus. The difficulties encountered against Montpellier (5 penalties conceded in a Montpellier scrum, 6 in a Bordeaux scrum and 2 lost scrums) reminded us of this. And against Castres, or Toulon? It would be better to redress the situation. Castres is the 3rd most effective team in putting the opposing team at fault and the Toulon team is first in the rank of won scrums. Just that.
“More mental than physical”
What did the players keep from their performance against the MHR? “That it was more mental than physical,” reports Boniface who will celebrate his third start of the season this Saturday. We have a good pack with internationals (Tameifuna, Poirot, Coleman, Petti), there is no reason why it should not work. We worked well in training, now it's up to us to prove this weekend that we can compete with all the scrums and especially the big ones like those that await us in the next matches. »
Except that the “melee” project at the UBB does not date from this year. “At the end of last season, we had already realized that we were too penalized in this sector,” rewinds manager Yannick Bru. “We worked to change things from the start in the intensity of certain efforts, in the types of sessions, a little different technique also on the hooks,” explains forwards coach Jean-Baptiste Poux. But we are the first to be disappointed to see that the results are a little late. Afterwards, we still won the matches, so it's up to us to continue working to reduce the gap between the different sectors so that everyone is at the same level of quality. »
Until when?
It's true that for the moment, even in matches made difficult by a turbulent conquest, other sectors such as defense or attack thanks to turnovers made winning by attackers who love it, have allowed the Bordelais to take it away. And as for the scrum as a launching pad for the game, so far, Jefferson Poirot's teammates have managed to get away with it differently.
But until when? If we plan as the UBB wants to do, the winter first, and the final phases then, will inevitably be complicated without a good scrum. But it is not (yet) time for worry. “I have confidence in my players and in the work of Jean-Baptiste,” assures Bru. We're not in the habit of making excuses, but we didn't have all our players available either. This is now the case, apart from the injuries. We are reasonably confident and Castres is going to be a huge test. »
Aouad first
The rotation continues at UBB and particularly up front. Jefferson Poirot was left to rest and the staff must deal with the injuries of Perchaud (shoulder), Gray (ankle) and Bochaton (back surgery on Monday). On the front line, Boniface, Sa and Sadie will start the match in Castres while Zinedine Aouad (19 years old) will have her first appearance in the Top 14 by taking her place on the bench. Taufa and Latterrade will be at his side.
