The Palois completely reversed the course of a game that got off to a very poor start for them, against Stade Français (30-16).
Weren’t you afraid of the return of old demons this Saturday?
You came back to the locker room trailing 13 to 3… I knew we would have a hell of a challenge to face in the next fifteen minutes. So, our speech was muscular, but also full of confidence.
Ah good ?
We were the ones losing all the balls. We have possessions in their camp, we gained the territory quite easily, but we did not keep our ammunition. So, we asked for technical regulations, shorter passes, lower contact work, a little more kicking. So, we would be able to put this team under pressure. And it went as planned.
How do you explain this fiery finale with four attempts in twenty-five minutes?
It was a standoff, very rough, very robust. It was bound to cause wear and tear, or even breakage or a fall. I agree, until the 50th, we didn’t know if we would be the team that collapsed or the team that dominated. But the men of the Section believed strongly in it, they wanted to be the dominant ones in this psychological and physical war. This belief fills me with pride.
Were your attackers better and more inspired in the second half?
No. Our three-quarters improved spaces quickly, but when precisely the Section forwards were dominant at the edge of the rucks, in the first phases, with a stable scrum, a touch which takes the ball and launches the game with a little of momentum or a Beka Gorgadze who is moving forward. Look in the first half, I remember we tried very long passes, and we were catapulted and we fell back on contact. We also had very high attitudes. Under these conditions, no three-quarters in the world can express themselves.
Have you reassured yourself about your weak points, identified since the start of the season?
Obviously we are proud to have pocketed this improved victory at home. But in four days, we showed up twice heads, twice tails. The Top 14 requires consistency. I recognize that we are fickle and at times, inconsistent. I know we have a team capable of scoring a lot of points, in almost all circumstances. But if we want to do better, we must be stable, primarily in conquest and be much tougher and more efficient in defense. This is what I hastily named “emergency defense plan”. A little ridiculously in fact, because it didn’t mean much: the defense must be correlated with the attack and the transition phases. Thank you for not bringing it up too much.
And now ?
It’s up to us to recover well. I’m going to give my men two days off. I believe in their ability to regenerate through rest. Then, we will work two days outside, in Hagetmau to have optimized training sessions. And I hope that in Perpignan, we will defend our skin valiantly. We know it will be hard. But let me think of my men until Wednesday in order to work in certain conditions and hope not to be ridiculous like on the last two trips.
