Oyonnax has finally launched its season

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Under pressure after Completely failed start to the seasonOyonnax scored a second consecutive victory against Montauban during the 15^e Pro D2 day. Despite the accumulated delay, the 2^e line Phoenix Battye still wants believe in the final phase. He spoke on this subject to At the time of Rugby as well as on his team's reaction to adversity encountered in recent months.

Oyonnax: finally a rebound in difficulty

Actu : These two victories in the last two meetings seem to prove that the group has resources despite adversity. Was it difficult to maintain the necessary level of concentration?

Phoenix Battye : We are coming out of a rather difficult six months, struggling to find our identity as a team. But during the last fortnight there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere within the group, we understood how we wanted to play and what our identity was. At this point, we have faced every challenge imaginable over the past six months. I find it hard to imagine bigger obstacles than those already encountered. We have experienced it all, we approach what comes with renewed resilience and strengthened will.

Did you expect so many difficulties coming down from the Top 14?

P.B. : Honestly, being the Oyomen is not easy. In Pro D2 we are one of the teams that have a target on our backs, a lot is expected of us. Although we are down from the Top 14, we are one of the smallest cities with a professional structure. Oyonnax is an anomaly, this club should almost not exist! So it's not easy, but this difficulty and our ability to overcome it are part of our identity, and I believe we found that again at the start of the season.

The difficult digestion of moving to the Top 14

Despite this particular aspect, given your status and your recruitment, you were one of the natural favorites this season. So what happened to cause everything to go so wrong?

P.B. : Winning is a habit. But when you move up to the Top 14, as a promoted player, you can easily lose it. You lose this ability to kill matches, you lose confidence in yourself. Going up and down caused damage. Add to this recruits who must adjust their individual qualities to a collective harmony that is already difficult to recreate…

It is also often said that the Top 14 and the Pro D2 are very different. Had you perhaps lost the aggressiveness necessary for this championship, which you nevertheless had during the title in 2023?

P.B. : Maybe a little, as well as a little character and certainty. The example that is often cited is New Zealand or South Africa. These teams never seem to lose confidence in their ability to turn games around in the final minutes. We had this mental strength two years ago and I think it had disappeared. It's not something that can be worked on, it's difficult to find and it only comes back when you win.

Do you think that Oyonnax was also able to be complacent and think that the team was necessarily going to dominate Pro D2 by coming down from the Top 14?

P.B. : This is also possible. I imagine it's a bit of a classic trap, we go down from the Top 14 to Pro D2 on the principle that it will be a little easier and that the work accomplished in the Top 14 will pay off immediately. But it doesn't work like that, Pro D2 is a very different, tough championship, and you have to prepare for it in a specific way.

Half a season in Pro D2 to bounce back

At the club since 2017, you are one of the leaders of this team. What message did you try to convey during these delicate months?

P.B. : If I take the example of this match in Montauban, I told the guys that I had felt a change in the last two weeks, that we had become more than a team. With all these difficulties encountered, we have become a family, our will is strengthened, we have new motivation. Many in the media said we were the type to give up if things went wrong after 20 minutes, I put that down to ignorance. Look at our team, they have been struggling for six months but they are here, they are fighting and they will continue to work.

Could you have thought that, without these victories before the break, the season was dead? Did the team have some sort of ultimatum?

P.B. : This was never the message from the leaders because we would have kept faith in ourselves anyway. But these two victories were important for confidence, it was necessary to confirm the performance of the previous week. It's done, but we know that there is still work to do and that we have room for improvement. Before the match against Montauban, I told the guys to find personal sources of motivation and then to unite to send a message to the other teams: Oyo is finally here and ready to fight.

Final phase objective

Since you are back, what goal do you set for yourself? Is the final phase still achievable?

P.B. : Of course, I think it is still possible. But that's very far away, very long term, and we're going to stick to the short term first. I suppose we come back to the famous parable. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Let's take it step by step, continue to progress and above all let's not forget the lessons of the first half of the season. It's not a new start but it's a step. Past seasons have shown that it is possible, for example with Grenoble last year. We have the players and the qualities to do it. All it takes is a collective decision. Once this team makes this decision, I know they will be able to move mountains.

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