On promised them hell on the lawn of Pierre-Fabre, the Bordelais offered themselves the invincibility of the Castres which had held since March of last season (3-13). To do this, the forward pack managed to raise the bar and put “one of the best scrums in the championship” in difficulty, said Yannick Bru before the match. Under the Tarn drizzle, thanks to a presence from the first minutes, a (finally) efficient and orderly conquest and the opportunism of a Moefana who had not yet scored this season, the Bordelais took the score and pinned the Castres in their camp and in a doubt that they could not dispel. Until a solid and serene victory.
“By going through all the scenarios, bad starts, good starts, and then bad ends of the match, we were pretty clean,” summarized captain Mahamadou Diaby. We had a good first half, we remained disciplined, especially on our conquest, that allowed us to stay in the match. It's been three weeks and it's starting to look like something. »
Hybrid model
Beyond a success that we know is among the most complicated in the championship to achieve, the message sent by the Bordelais also says that the team is delivering on the goals it sets for itself. There was the victory in Toulouse (12-16) to definitively leave the final behind them. Now there is the one in Castres where the forwards wanted to show that they were not at their level. “It’s true that we are a team that attacks a lot and we have this label of a group against which we have to put in the fight so that they let go,” analyzes Diaby. But it's by winning matches like that that we manage to create another image and make everyone understand that we are a little more hybrid, that we can do a little bit of everything. »
And this, regardless of the players lined up on the field. For this challenge against the CO, the Bordeaux staff made up with around ten absentees and not the least. No Poirot, Tameifuna, Bochaton, Gray, Gazzotti, Lucu, Jalibert, Tapuai, Bielle-Biarrey, Retière and other Buros, injured or on vacation. But no problem, it still works. And those who didn't play are almost happier than those who leave the field like Maxime Lucu: “We had Max on face time in the locker room,” says the captain of the evening. He was partying alone, he was happy as if he were with us. »
The group lives well as they say. In other words, hasn't collective solidity gone up a notch yet? “We must be able, despite the changes, to display the same state of mind each time,” confirms the third row. We manage to do it week after week, it shows that we are growing and that the UBB collective is strong.” Perfect for this time. “Next week is already another step,” forwards coach Jean-Baptiste Poux knows all too well, thinking about the arrival of Toulon next Saturday (9:05 p.m.). Then there will be the return of the European Cup, then the doubles of the Tournament. In the meantime, the UBB has raised its voice again.
