The maritime captain was relieved by the final result and proud of the reaction of his team at the end of the match against Clermont (20-15). But he was also aware that the content offered this Saturday would not allow his team to achieve their end-of-season objectives.
How did you experience the last five minutes of the game?
We could have scared ourselves but there was a great reaction from the team with this ball defense. We showed a lot of resilience, a lot of desire. And it did us a lot of good. There is this ruck at the end which could have been managed better, too, but the reaction behind it was good. Everyone got back in place and went strong. This is what forces them to take the ball out of touch. We could have avoided this end of the match if we had been cleaner and more precise. There were individual mistakes, simple mistakes, which could have been avoided with a little concentration. After the Vannes match, we absolutely wanted to be 3 out of 3 before the Christmas holidays. We're there, that's the positive point. On the other hand, on Thursday, we will have to come back to train with, I hope, a lot of humility, with the desire to play 80 minutes in Perpignan and to really challenge ourselves there.
Did you expect such a level of commitment from Clermont, a rival who challenged you?
Yes of course. We know that it’s a team that puts a lot of commitment into it, that doesn’t give up. In the first half, we were pretty good. It was on the second one that we were put in danger. If we had managed to score points in a row, the match would have turned out differently. But we did not manage to increase the playing time. Certainly, they have a good defense but I think we were not good with our supports, our collisions. However, we know that when we manage to keep the ball long enough and increase the intensity as we know how, we can be dangerous.
There are three successes with three different match patterns during the month of December. If the content doesn't satisfy you, this ability to snatch victory must please you…
Of course, that's great. Especially since we are in a crucial period and we no longer had the right to lose at home after what happened. Of course we have a smile, there is music in the locker room and everyone is very happy. Now, I'm being choosy because we have clear ambitions. We want to go very far and we have to be demanding of ourselves. Little by little, it will come. I'm not worried. Frankly, we have gained a lot of confidence in these last matches. You have to let go and give 100% for 80 minutes.
The next few weeks will indeed be crucial to confirm what looks like a collective rise in power, at least in terms of results…
We will keep our heads on the handlebars and continue to work hard to try to show a good face outside in Perpignan. We've had trouble doing it since the start of the year. I feel that we are pretty good in attitude and physically. Everyone puts in a lot of effort on the pitch. It doesn't let up. When there are losses of bullets, everyone starts moving, runs. There's no one complaining.
