“Discipline is the key! We still only concede nine penalties against LOU, six against Stade Français. It’s very good, very very good,” relishes Jean-Noël Spitzer at the start of the season, whose team has so far not conceded any defeats. RC Vannes is the only team in the Top 14 in this case. Those who have only been given a single yellow card, synonymous with a temporary exclusion of ten minutes, correspond to the big guns of the elite: Stade Toulousain, Clermont, Bordeaux-Bègles, La Rochelle.
“It is both a desire on our part and a sine qua non condition for existing in this competition,” explains Karl Chateau, captain on Saturday in Toulon. For a team that is coming up, playing with 15 players the whole match is important. If only to avoid putting a bullet in the foot. It also shows that we don’t suffer that much because when you suffer, you make mistakes in conquest or in the short game. Everyone hangs on to look good and not make any mistakes. »
The 32-year-old 3rd row, who knows where he is going with his four seasons in the Top 14 (one in his debut with Stade Toulousain, then three others with Perpignan), measures the scope of this aspect. “There are statistics on the subject. Above 8 or 9 penalties, we are already putting ourselves in danger regarding a potential victory. Discipline is also something that the staff has been emphasizing for years. In Pro D2, we wanted to be the most disciplined team. » Without losing sight of another more anecdotal dimension, on a purely sporting level. “For us, it is also important, in terms of image. »
“A stupid mistake at 50 m, it horrifies me”
But be careful, warns Jean-Noël Spitzer, “we don’t prohibit boxes in the team. It’s just that they must be taken wisely. When you defend your goal line, it happens. On the other hand, for a stupid mistake at 50 m, it horrifies me because behind it, it’s ten minutes of suffering for the team! I place a lot of emphasis on discipline and mastery. It’s been two years since we were the least sanctioned team in Pro D2. We are recognized as an intelligent team, who knows the rules, who knows how to control their nerves. Afterwards when you have to defend your line, if you have to make mistakes, you make them. »
The RC Vannes coach notes, however, that in the first three matches, “as much as we were able to be outpaced by the fighter planes opposite, I don’t have the feeling that we were caught in the collisions, in the rhythm of the game, perhaps because paradoxically the actual playing time is shorter in Top 14 than in Pro D2, not by much but a little – around a minute. And long sequences are less frequent than in Pro D2. Also, we are not abandoned on the physical level. We finished our matches well like at Stade Français, or even against LOU. »
