An eye on the Pro D2 with Jérôme Thion: “It’s a perfect start to the season for Grenoble”

Grenoble still dominates the debates (1st with 51 points) and erases the fears of the off-season…

It's the nice surprise of the year, knowing that during the off-season we actually asked ourselves some questions. There were quite a few executives leaving, young people from the training center who were going to other clubs in the Top 14, captain Steve Blanc-Mappaz who was leaving for Lyon… In the end, we didn't really know if the group was going to returning to the bases of last year with a big identity, with a great game. In the end, it's the great discovery of the start of the season. This is the team that is playing the best since the start of this Pro D2 and to watch, it's really a treat. What's good is that they always manage to renew themselves and find players in the training who are up to standard and who are really at the top to play. It’s a perfect start to the season for Grenoble.

Brive is in second place in the championship but in terms of content, don't you have the feeling that they are capable of doing better?

We would have hoped that Brive would take this championship a little differently. There is always a part of adaptation between Top 14 and Pro D2, we saw it with certain teams like Oyonnax. We have to readjust, find the right fuel in a championship which is different with blocks. In view of the recruitment, it's true that we expected better from Brive even if today they are starting to take the measure of this Pro D2. It's a team that is constantly improving and has so much potential that we always expect a little more from them.

You mention this Oyonnax team which scored a victory at Montauban before the break. Is this synonymous with a new dynamic?

Oyonnax will manage to get up without any problem. Over the last two outings, we understood the dimension they could have, which was not necessarily the case at the start of the season. Having spoken with some of the players and some of the coaches, a lot has happened internally. There was a lot of movement. A change of management with a head coach who became defense coach of the England team. All of this puts a little confusion on this team even if we basically have a group with enormous potential. Let's say we expected better even if, on the last block, we saw that the team had character.

Do you think Oyonnax can really get back on track?

I remember Grenoble, which was predicted to be in difficulty last year and which finished twice as a finalist with penalty points that I no longer knew what to do with. From a non-sporting point of view, it was an ordeal for them but they managed to manage and finish in the top 6. If Oyonnax goes back to qualifying in the top 6 that would not surprise me. It's not impossible for them.

Biarritz and Montauban, who had started off with flying colors, fell out of the top 6…

It's always the same difficulty when you're in this Pro D2. The championship is long, the blocks are managed differently for some. There are a few injuries… On the Montauban side, last season was catastrophic but when we see the work that has been done by Sébastien Tillous-Borde and his new staff, we see a real difference in the approach and in the game propose. I think it's just a little less good, a slump like there can be during the season. I'm not particularly worried and I even think that this team can get a place in the top 6.

Just like Biarritz?

Biarritz is frankly attractive in terms of content. Honestly, I didn't think I would see them as relevant in what they manage to offer. The work done by Boris Bouhraoua is remarkable. It's positive management, he always manages to find the right words to keep a group very united. In terms of content, at home it doesn't change, it's a team which will look for points away and which can also grab the top 6 without any problem.

On the contrary, Dax and Soyaux-Angoulême have settled into the first six places in the championship. Is this really a surprise?

In terms of budget, yes. What's incredible is that these are teams that continue to progress constantly, even with a small budget. What makes the difference in Pro D2 is being able to glean points away from home, which Soyaux-Angoulême managed to do perfectly at the start of the season. Dax, for his part, is still as surprising, it's still as strong, it plays, it wins, frankly it's attractive and it gives a little freshness to this Pro D2. It's part of the DNA of Pro D2, to have teams that we don't expect on paper and who can grab places in the top 6. It's rewarding for this championship and it gives hope to all the teams who can rise.

Nevers for its part clearly seems to be at the end of its cycle?

Yes it's hard, it's very hard in Nevers. It hurts my heart to see Xavier Péméja in this situation. They lost quite a few executives, including Christian Ambadiang, who was really the major player in Pro D2 last year. He flew through the championship and when you lose a major player it's complicated to replace him, it's even impossible, no one has his profile. Today in the offensive animation of the USON, we do not find this type of player and this is already a first problem. The second is that Nevers is in difficulty from the start of the season. Psychologically I think that there is a real difficulty which sets in and which they cannot manage. Even the manager can't find a solution at the moment. He had also submitted his resignation which was refused by the president of the club. Psychologically, we can see that everyone is impacted. I just hope they find new resources to end this season well.

Aren't you disappointed with a team like Provence Rugby?

Disappointed because we expect better from this team, of course. On paper we expect them to battle for the top spots and really dominate this Pro D2. Since the start of the exercise, it's not yet that. There is an element of frustration. It's a team that scores a lot but can't achieve consistency in its results. This is quite surprising, given the quality of the squad.

What are the challenges of the next block?

Stability for those who want to keep a place in the top 6 is essential. Oyonnax will need to find real momentum again. The soft stomach teams will have to get active. But over the next few blocks, the matches will become more and more bitter.