Top 14 – Jules Favre (La Rochelle): “When everyone is up to speed, our defense will really hurt!”

Stade Rochelais has the opportunity to start a dynamic on Saturday, after two consecutive successes against Pau (49-25) and Racing (16-17)…

This victory at Racingwe went to look for her in the last moments, even if the content of the match was not perfect. We would have liked to do much better. Now, we must confirm with a home victory to validate this away victory. Otherwise, last weekend’s efforts will have been for nothing…

Does it appear that your manager Ronan O’Gara had some harsh words this week?

Necessarily. He was not satisfied with the content of the match. In addition, at the end, we give the penalty, we go in front, and at kick-off, if we go forward, we take it in front, it’s a penalty for them in front of the posts… At any time , we can lose this match. We play with fire. Ronan would like us to take a step on this. We managed to win away but there were two or three attempts that we didn’t make. It’s a bit of a story at the start of the season at the moment.

Also read:
Top 14 – La Rochelle: the reasons for a “miracle”

Wouldn’t you have definitely lost that match last season?

Especially against Racing. We could have lost our footing, yes. There, we held on in defense. In the end, we won the match, but it was a bit of a save-what-you-can…

What do you think of this Lyon team, capable of scoring 40 points against Castres, but also of taking 38?

They have very dangerous players behind, they raise a lot, they have legs. Up front, it’s playing strong and we saw that they were in a bit of frontal percussion, that they were going to come and get us. They are capable of attacking extremely well, but as a result, in defense, we see that they are also a little crumbly. Our attack must score every time we enter their 22 meters. It’s not because we are at home that we have to go to the sideline or take the scrum every time. And it’s up to us to have the same defense as last weekend, or even better, to try to push the line a little more, to try to put them under even more pressure.

It’s been more than a semester, or sixteen matches, since Stade Rochelais has not finished a match without conceding a try(s). Is this the objective sought this weekend?

We have a points objective which is quite low in this match, and we are trying to little by little gain confidence in our defense. We know that this is our strong point. We need to really get over this, to stop taking 20, 30 points at home, because it’s boring. So, you’re always fighting, trying to notice attempts, when in fact, you don’t need to. Just: you’re at home, you defend well, you let them give you the ball back, and then you go to them to score.

What does this milestone you’re talking about go through in training?

We have ten-minute sequences during collective training where we all defend together. These are little points of communication between us, trust that will build between the players so that on the weekend, when we announce that we have to move up, we are all on the same wavelength. If there is one that does not rise, it lowers the hunting line, it creates intervals and you put yourself in difficulty when there is no reason to be. We try to take a course individually on the tackles too, to miss as few tackles as possible and to bring them down as quickly as possible. Well, I’m not going to tell you our game plan, but… (laughs)

More ?

In fact, you just have to believe in the system. There are guys who are still having a little trouble, and when everyone is up to speed, our defense will really hurt!

Also read:
Top 14 – Thomas Berjon (La Rochelle), the story of an atypical centurion

There is a lot of talk at the start of the season about the Bordeaux Galactics, which you will receive during the 7^e day but your three-quarter line also shows that she knows how to keep the ball alive, right?

Of course. It’s true that we had a very complicated last season, we couldn’t do what we wanted and the efforts at the right time, it was disorganized… What Rémi (Talès, three-quarters coach , Editor’s note) wanted to put in place – I don’t know why – didn’t really work. And there, since the start of the season, since the post-season, I find that we have really managed to put some play in. This match against Pau, where there are six three-quarter tries, reflects that. We manage to play behind, move the ball, hit the lanes, put the teams in danger. We are delighted with that. The forwards, too. We still have a team renowned for its powerful forwards who push forward. To be able to produce games is really good. Now we have to work on the finish.

A more personal question. Did your end of last season as the club’s first center (ahead of Jonathan Danty) and your tour of Argentina with the French XV revive your international ambitions?

Relaunched, I don’t know. We’ll see. But it’s true, casually, that it was a good rugby experience. I resumed some high-level training with a tour, with matches. I didn’t play against Argentina, but I had the chance to play against Uruguay with more or less the best French players (France Développement). Obviously, it makes you want to come back. I really would have liked to have had my first selection. I think I was still missing a little bit and I’m going to work for it. I hope I will be rewarded in future years.