While the Catalans are stuck in the middle of the table after a few days of the championship, the first elements of content diametrically opposed to last season are being felt. Why has the defensive aspect taken over the previously feared offensives? Adaptation, temporary situation or new philosophy? Elements of response.
“There is incredible emulation in this group. Everyone comes to pick up the other to train a little more at the end of the session. We see boys adding exercises to each other, even though there will only be ‘only one who will play in this position on the weekend.’ Gérald Bastide, the defense coach, recently laid the foundations for a state of mind which now reigns in Perpignan. A major indicator of some early awareness. The harm caused the hiccup suffered against Montpellier at the start of the championshipwill certainly have shaped the approach of a staff which aims for performance. “We have not forgotten this matchdeclared David Marty in substance. “We had to find solutions. Both the players and the staff questioned themselves. And we moved on to something else in our heads,” specified the head coach.
Important changes to assimilate
Numbers never lie. Eight tests conceded only in five days, the best statistic of all the competition in this sector. At this time last year, Usap had already received the trifle of 24 testss, or three times more than in as many days. A mathematical chasm which responds to a severe adaptation to the context of a Top 14 where defense sometimes takes precedence excessively. “I am not convinced that it is a real desire on the part of the staff to be more defensive. This is mainly due to the fact that big changes have been made on the hinge and small mistakes in other positions , and that the game is less well established”, retorts Jérôme Porical, former back of the club and avid follower. “Gérald Bastide has been working well in his sector for years, David Marty offers complete rugby and will accentuate his strategy too. This will take time and they should move towards the objectives they want little by little.”he indicates.
With the arrivals ofAntoine Aucagne, a real opener with a powerful footable to relieve the meters to be covered for its forwards, Giorgi Beria and Kieran Brookes, pillars who appreciate duels in the small perimeter, the centers Apisai Naqalevu and the recruit Eneriko Buliruarua, fans of a frontal game, where the line more breaks with shoulder blows rather than after a post-contact pass, the remarkable performances of Lucas Velarte, ready to generate advance on the small perimeter, with strikes which still make people scream Aimé-Giral, l’Usap also has very earthy profiles. Not that Lucas Dubois, Alistair Crossdale or Jake McIntyre no longer have a say, quite the contrary. They are still like others, the custodians of a Perpignan game which has enchanted rugby followers with its panache and its results.
The attack is less flamboyant, we must compensate
No, it’s quite simply basics that an entire club appropriates, with an undisguisable relish and which ultimately corresponds to local qualities. Lucas Bachelier, one of the leaders of the combat at Usap, often praised for his attitudes in obscure tasks, validates the idea:“Having a strong defense here has always been an objective. I would even say that it is the DNA of the club. Last season, we conceded too many tries, and if we were in difficulty, it was because of largely for that, it’s true that our attack is less flamboyant at the moment, but we have to compensate in another sector. The work is immense in these combat zones, and in training, the staff guides us well to succeed. already this mission.”
Moreover, one statement still resonates. When Lucas Dubois said recently:“We had thought too much about our movement game rather than our engagement.” As if the people of Perpignan had not put the ingredients in the right order, even though they are working hard to take care of their conquest. “In the 10 years that I have been here, we have never deviated from certain principles. Last season, it was the start of a new cycle, the arrival of many players, not easy for optimal cohesion on the line and assimilate together what was asked of us And this upstream work that was carried out, is found today with the requirements that the staff puts in place, and by extension, those that we put in place for each other. the others for the preparations”explains Lucas Bachelier. No choice, to survive in the jungle of the Top 14, the Sang et Or must raise all the sliders, including as a priority certain fundamentals to compete. There is also no doubt that Usap is temporarily shifting its rugby unions to the altar of results and the urgency to master whatever happens. The rest will come a little later, it’s only a matter of time, let’s face it.
