Late match of the 7th day, this poster between Fleurance and Valence d’Agen, this Sunday, December 22, seems quite balanced, even if in the ranking, ASF (9th) is seven points behind Avenir Valencien (4th). ). Tarn-et-Garonnais who have not won since November 10, with, important to underline, three trips in a row.
For the Gersois, the victory against Lannemezan (31-27), even if it will not go down in history, allowed the ASF to move away from the red zone. The arrival of the Valencians is an opportunity to perhaps breathe a little easier. But the Florantine staff expects an intense fight in this almost derby. « Valence d’Agen is very efficient on the bases of conquest, with a well-organized game, a game constantly adapted to the opponent »explains Philippe Maymat, co-trainer of the ASF; “This leads us to have a lot of distrust in this team… we will have to bring arguments other than those we had last Sunday against Lannemezan. »
Walter Desmaison and Philippe Maymat do not hide their satisfaction at having seen their team come out of the tunnel for several matches. And the latter continues: « Everyone had to get to know each other. With Walter (Desmaison)when we arrived at the ASF, we didn’t know a player, or almost. So it takes time. And what’s more, in terms of conquest, it was in its infancy. Then with now a better conquest and a game project, we found ourselves more efficient. »
In the Valencian camp, there is a player in particular who can really hurt his opponents; his name is Thomas Piquemal. The Valencia fly-half from Agen, with 4 tries, 11 conversions, 29 penalties and 1 drop, scored 132 points out of his team’s 275, or 48% of Valencia’s points.
Walter Desmaison, co-coach of AS Fleurance:
“A DETERMINING MATCH FOR THE REST OF OUR SEASON”
– Walter Desmaison, this Valence d’Agen team, although fourth in the standings, has been experiencing some difficulties for a while. On the other hand, the ASF is starting the winter rather well. Maybe it’s a good time to receive them, right?
– Valence d’Agen is on three consecutive trips. Then if they had been spared in terms of injuries, they have just lost a few players in recent matches. We are on a reverse dynamic; we started the season with a lot of injuries. And if today we have correct results, it is because we have an almost complete workforce. This allows for rotations to bring a certain freshness at times.
– For Fleurance, the first two months of the championship were a nightmare. But since mid-autumn, the ASF seems to have found its way back on track.
– We arrived at a club where they had had a certain mode of operation for five years. We brought other things, without disrupting the players’ habits. We had to adapt to each other. Today we found the right carburetion, even if we would have liked to be more efficient. It’s certain that we are no longer the same team compared to the first block. But if we got out of the relegation zone, we weren’t out of the woods either. The match against Valence d’Agen will be quite decisive for the rest of our season.
– Beating the Tarn-et-Garonnais would be a great performance.
– Valence d’Agen is a big piece, with resources and investments put in place. It’s a great team with a big win and a huge scorer. We know that we will have no room for error. Against Lannemezan, we were shaken up a little on our fundamentals; we had found a scrum for five or six matches, and against CAL we were in a bit of difficulty in this sector of play. We know that we cannot make any mistakes at this level because Valence d’Agen has a player like Thomas Piquemal who will be uncompromising on each of our mistakes.
After three years at Beaumont, Nicolas Crubilé is in his third season at Valence d’Agen.
“PLACE THE VALENCIAN FUTURE IN THE FRENCH TOP 50”
– Nicolas Crubilé, your team is in a good fourth place. But you remain in four matches without victories, with an unfavorable schedule for your players. And now it’s the trip to Fleurance…
– We have just had three away matches, but we have two defensive bonuses and a draw. And when we lose, we always have the match ball to win or draw. Today, we know what we must work on, what we must rely on. Of course we are not satisfied with our performance over the last few weeks. But we’re working on it.
– Exactly, what are these points that Valence d’Agen must work on?
– We have a lot of injured people, so we have to work on our collective connections. We play with young players who until now played parts of matches. And there they become a little more important. So we have to work on these connections. We have to be a little more disciplined, and above all we have to validate our strong points. If we do that, the results will come back. Our game is stable. We know what we want to do, we know where we want to go.
– If Avenir Valencien is currently in difficulty, you still remain well ahead of AS Fleurance…
– The ranking is a bit of a lie. Everything can move. What I see is that we have 33 points and there are ten games left to play, so 50 points to distribute. And you will need at least 63 to qualify.
– Do you know the ASF team?
– This is a team that is two years ahead of us in its project. We are learning. Fleurance has more experience than us, with players who know the high level. ASF is an eye-catching team, like their last try scored against Lannemezan. We respect them a lot. We come to Fleurance very humbly.
– L’Avenir Valencien is an ambitious club, with more resources…
– More resources? I don’t know. I know everyone lies a little about their budgets. I am very vigilant about this.
– Without talking about finance, Valence d’Agen does not hide its ambition to play at the top one day.
– We try to work on the objectives of the qualification. My roadmap has four objectives: anchor the club in the territory, develop our training methodology and our work culture, develop our structures, and put the club back in the French Top 50. So it goes through stages. The first year was an uphill climb. Last year, maintenance. This year, it’s qualification. But we have to put things in order. Develop our young players. Last weekend, we played with a 24-year-old left prop, a 21-year-old hooker, a 22-year-old second row, a 21-year-old third row, a 22-year-old scrum half. We seek to improve our players’ skills through a training methodology and a playing model that has been clearly identified for three years. And our good results are the fruit of work and humility.
Comments collected by JMR
Stats of the two teams before this late match:
FLEURANCE at home:
– 138 points scored (90+48) and 152 points conceded (99+53)
– 15 tries scored (8+7) and 16 tries conceded (12+4)
– 12 penalties recorded (10+2) and 12 penalties conceded (7+5)
VALENCE D’AGEN away:
– 114 points scored (57+57) and 126 points conceded (73+53)
– 10 tries scored (3+7) and 14 tries conceded (9+5)
– 17 penalties recorded (11+6) and 11 penalties conceded (6+5)
Try markers:
FLOWERANCE
4 tests: Maxime Calmettes.
3 attempts: Thomas CantaloupLouis Leraitre.
2 attempts: Adrien BlatRomain LefortAlexis LopezValentin MuradoreMatthieu PiperolKatilimoni Ofa Rebellion.
1 test: Luc BertolissiVictor ColasAdrahmi CanLucas Prudhomme.
VALENCE D’AGEN
5 tries: Roy Loresio.
4 attempts: Thomas Piquemal.
3 attempts: Adrien Lower bodyFlorian Stirred.
1 try: Hugo BertramAdolph BothmaLilian BousignacJason DeschampsGuillaume LazyPaul FeuilleratDamien FuriniInem IskhakovYves ScoutEnzo RiverEnzo Zaitri.
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