After 26 days of battle, the six qualifiers had the… six best defenses in the elite, with less than 600 points conceded. After three outings, the Paloise Section has already taken 117. That’s way too many! “We take too many points and tries easily. We will not be able to win or exist if we are not more efficient in defending,” notes Thomas Choveau. And the forwards coach identifies three areas of progress for his men.
Rugby – Top 14: the Paloise Section in the spotlight
After its disillusionment in La Rochelle, it was in prime time against a vengeful Stade Français that the Section returned to battle. On its land revived by care and fertilizer, it will have to respond to the challenges of intensity and roughness. Silence, is it growing?
Put more pressure
If we compare the figures for the 2023-2024 season and those for this 2024-2025 financial year, the Section still likes to have the ball and carry it. If she crosses more and beats more defenders, she uses the kicking game less. Hence more readable initiatives. “We are often in the same mode: trying to do a lot by hand without necessarily putting a lot of pressure on the opposing defense,” regrets Choveau.
Illustration with the first test conceded in Clermont: Pau plays in front of the asemist curtain without moving forward and the supports end up making a mistake. The Palois forgot to fall back and had to defend a huge penalty, transformed into a try by Tixeront. “You have to push your opponent to make a mistake with your hand, high or low foot,” insists Thomas Choveau.
The editorial team advises you
The editorial team advises you
Better reorganize
In the summer of 2023, the Pau staff noticed that the Section was taking a lot of tries in less than five passes on lost balls. A problem resolved last season, following the creation of defensive codes. Which do not seem to be integrated by everyone. “It’s a question of balance […]. Against Bayonne, we put intensity into attacking, less into defending. Sometimes we get into difficulty because we lose balls in conditions where we are too crumbly,” explains the forwards coach.
The pass after ground contact from Simmonds against Rowing, before Machenaud’s try on interception, illustrates this well. Ditto on that of Jurand in Clermont, following a loss of the ball from Gailleton in the middle of the field, before Desperes’ ball. Or in La Rochelle, when Sacha Zegueur misplaced an ammunition at 55 meters, used to send Douglas queen.
The editorial team advises you
Intensity and cohesion
Already in Clermont, the Béarnais pack had suffered. But not like in La Rochelle. “It’s a heavy, massive team. But the defense of the balls carried, like the scrum, were not good enough. On these sequences, from the start, we are in the tough,” explains Thomas Choveau. Ideal launching pads for adversaries, at the origin of 4 of the 8 maritime tests…
“These are collective experiences that are not necessarily pleasant. But it will forge our future successes […]. We have two problems ahead: the lack of intensity and collective cohesion, points out the forwards coach. We play with a lot of brilliant recruits who want to get involved. But we are missing quite a few leading players.” It’s up to the Béarnais collective to compensate.
