In four days, the Var club stole 17 opposing possessions out of 62 shots defended. A strong axis which deserved analysis.
Performing last season in the counter-touch sector, Toulon is setting the table again at the start of this exercise. For what reasons? First of all, the Var squad is full of specialists, and above all, Pierre Mignoni does not hesitate to add them on the field.
Except against Vannesthe Var coach has always made packs with at least three good jumpers, and he even went up to four during the trip to Paris (Ollivon, Abadie, Ribbans and Mézou) and La Rochelle (Ollivon, Abadie, Ribbans and Youyoutte ). Enough to make the tailgaters sweat. Of the 17 stolen balls, Toulon recovered the ball on average at its 30 meters (ten within its 22 meters, a place where the Rouge et Noir often bet to jump).
Abadie as main threat
This won’t be a surprise to anyone, but the ex-Briviste continues to reign in the air with already five stolen balls in three appearances. The position of the third line is interesting to dissect. The French international (one selection) always places himself on the first jumping block, a place usually occupied by a second row.
In this area, the person concerned monitors the first block and the middle one. A presence which worked wonders during the two trips to La Rochelle and Paris. Castres, the only team that was able to avoid the hands of the native of Le Mans and achieved a good performance in the field (6/7), made no mistake by almost systematically throwing at the back of the lineup.
Questioned regarding his preparation, the trained Racing 92 player agreed to reveal part of his method : “We use video a lot to know how the team attacks depending on the areas of the pitch. Then, there is an element of instinct, because we cannot predict everything. But it is so satisfying when you observe that the opposing team captain no longer has a solution, he no longer knows what to announce (smile). In my preparation, I watch the last three matches of the opposing team and the previous matches against us. efficient, and that sometimes allows us to stay in matches like in La Rochelle. There is a lot of work, but sometimes, on the pitch, we also make bets. Sometimes we jump, and other times, we decide to. do not jump. By jumping, you expose yourself to the bottom. [sur le maul porté]but if we manage to counter, it saves us from having to defend long, physical sequences in front of our line for 2 or 3 minutes.”
If Toulon works a lot on video, the opponents do too. In the absence of Abadie, Vannes noted that the first block jumping is much freer. The Bretons took advantage of this by targeting the Alainu’uese area.
In a more occasional manner, but always with the aim of instilling fear in the opposing line-up, Toulon sets up two jumping blocks to have a more aggressive defense covering more areas. A daring choice, which is rarely used in the professional world.
Ribbans in second blade
In this tactic, Esteban Abadie is most often helped by David Ribbans. The former member of the Northampton Saints enjoys both ground combat and aerial duels. The second, if he sporadically exchanges roles with Abadie especially when an opponent is much taller than his younger brother, generally takes care of the middle zone of the alignment to the back of the alignment in case shortcut key.
Quite impressive in the field, the man born in South Africa is right behind Esteban Abadie with four stolen throws already. He notably raided La Rochelle, following Cancoriet like his shadow.
To counter the double meter of “Ribeye”, Castres used an effective tactic: Barlot used the weapon of the lobbed throw on the third jumping block. The smart Tarnais had also taken the gamble of reducing the lineups. Thus, Abadie moved from the position of jumper to that of lifter. And as we have seen, to avoid the Frenchman’s counter, it is better to leave him on the ground.
Ollivon en joker de luxe
The captain of Toulon, ace in touch play and often used in the register at international level, is less effective (only 1 against) than his partners but especially less used when the first two named are present. He takes care of the last third of the alignment.
On the other hand, as a natural leader, the Basque steps up when the rotations do not allow Abadie and/or Ribbans on the field. This was the case last Saturday against Vannes. With only one other specialist on the pitch in the person of Corentin Mézou, who was very successful in the field during his two starts, the third line shares the center zone with another second line.
As you have noticed, it is better to play Toulon with two specialists than with three or four experts in the field. At the start of the season, the Varois rather favor the second strategy during away meetings. This is good: the Mignoni gang is getting ready to move twice in a row in Clermont and Racing 92.
