There were about twenty meters left! Once again, RC Vannes narrowly failed, with, given the scenario of the match, an almost miraculous match point in their hands. It was just after Vannes' second try, that of Leafa almost on the gong which offered a final hope of success (21-27 80'). La Rabine was in apnea. Gorissen and his men moved back 50 meters. Before coming up against the powerful visiting defense one last time, quite logically.
“I felt my team timid at times and overwhelmed by the intensity of contact”
However, against Aviron Bayonnais, RC Vannes had a golden opportunity to get back into the race to maintain their position. The Blues and Whites missed it. It's very simple, against a team, fifth in the Top 14 and number one in terms of field occupation, they clearly dominated the first period… concluded with a score of 11-21 while the visitors were penalized. a good ten times (for a usual average of eleven per match!) and spent 20 minutes outnumbered. “It’s a miracle to win while being sanctioned 24 times,” said Maxime Machenaud. We were ultra-realistic! “.
Not the Vannes who, despite 64% possession of the ball, did not manage to wrap up this match as they would have liked. “We have at least two situations where we should have been more efficient and scored, one in the first half, the other in the second. Our achievement was not very good. Their defense, yes, explained Jean-Noël Spitzer. But it was a slow match, very choppy with a lot of stoppages in play, video referees, microphone problems. And we never managed to get into our match. I felt my team timid sometimes and taken by this intensity of contact or this lack of rhythm. »
“We lacked talent, speed, energy”
In the second half, the RCV tried to set things on fire, especially from the hour mark. But the spark only burst in the final seconds, shortly after Bayonne had passed very close to the offensive bonus. “We were able to come back. The boys showed self-sacrifice. But we lacked talent, speed, energy,” commented the Vannes coach.
Still, this is not the first time this season that the Vannes residents may have regrets. Of course, the collapse against Bègles-Bordeaux (29-0, 35'; 29-37 in the end) remains in our minds, but we can also remember the short setback, still at La Rabine against Racing 92 ( 24-27), even the air gaps, which did not allow the feat as at Stade Français (34-31). Jean-Noël Spitzer preferred to see the glass half full: “Perpignan, on their first accession, they had not won a match at Christmas. I think they still haven't won a European Challenge match. So, we did things. And, today, we are not eliminated. We have to be better. For 80 minutes and at 23! »
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