Pro D2 – Valence-Romans: the Checkers under pressure

This Friday, Fabien Fortassin’s players will once again have their backs against the wall, and with great pressure on their shoulders, for the reception of a Montalbanese team who have succeeded in everything since the start of the season. But this situation does not seem to weigh too much on the workforce. “Against Agen, we were also under pressure and we managed to win. So, maybe we need that to win these matches” indicates Louis Marrou. “We really have a lot of pressure for this meeting against Montauban. It’s a match which will be decisive even if we are only at the start of the season. We host Montauban and after that we go to Nice. If we manage to gain the confidence there, that could help us for the next away match. I hope that it will galvanize us, and that we will have the same state of mind and the same desire to win as last season. where we had our best matches in this situation”underlines Axel Bruchet.

Erase the many errors

Overall, since the start of the season, Valence-Romans has struggled to finish its matches well, and has let games within its reach slip away, such as the derby in Grenoble where the Drômois were level with FCG (23-22, 67th) before subsequently collapsing with three tries conceded for a score that did not reflect the physiognomy (44-22). But it is above all because of numerous avoidable errors that VRDR seriously complicates its task. “We need to improve our camp outings. When we manage to score, we must not make a mistake again and take points directly behind. This season, as soon as we make a mistake, we are penalized directly either with a try , either three points, or a ball in our court”notes the captain of the Damiers, Axel Bruchet. Against Montauban, and for the other matches, the Drômois will clearly have to improve their efficiency in the two scoring zones, by being sharper in attack as well as in defense. “We have to be more aggressive whether in defense or attack. We have to get there with rage and 200% to make it happen, that’s what we’re missing, and to be more patient .” All these ingredients will be essential to be able to beat a solid Montauban team. “It’s going to be complicated. We know that up front, it’s mostly very solid guys. They have very good players, we’re really wary of this team. But if we already focus on ourselves and we manage to do Whatever we want to do, it’s going to do it.”