Stade Rochelais has been hard to read in recent months. After a run of three consecutive seasons with contested finals, the Maritimes failed to reach this stage last year, falling to Leinster and Toulouse in the Champions Cup and Top 14. Since the resumption, the men by Ronan O'Gara show great inconsistency. They were thus able to win at Bath or against Bristol while losing at home against Vannes or at Perpignant last week. For Uini Atonio, the problem is mental. In particularly crude comments transcribed by Rugby Ramathe international pillar deplored this irregularity at a press conference: “There is perhaps a mental side, too, thinking that it will be easy when we come up against teams lower ranked than us. I know that when you have a little poop on your ass, you move your ass. It showed when we went to Bath, against a first team in their championship, who win every match. As soon as we have this fear, we come out of big matches. Today, we have no solution. Finally, we have solutions, but it's up to us to show it on Saturday, and when we go to play away. »
“We have to be constant” alerts Atonio
Stade Rochelais hopes to put on its finest combat outfit this Saturday when it hosts Stade Toulousain, which will mark a 100th consecutive wicket-close at Marcel-Deflandre. If the Rouge et Noir should arrive with a very experimental team, Atonio wants to concentrate on the performance of his team: “Whether it’s Toulouse, Toulon, Bordeaux… they’re still big matches. Even their B team is competitive. But, whatever team is lined up, we are ready. We didn't work any differently this week but when you lose an away match like that, it shows that the group is more concentrated compared to the previous week. But we can't just be in reaction. It has to be constant all year round. This week the guys came in with their heads down to work harder. Toulouse are leaders and it's up to us to make the effort to start this match well. And to play 80-minute matches. For the moment, we have not seen complete matches, compared to our abilities as players” Stade Rochelais hopes to finally launch its season.
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To summarize
Uini Atonio returned to the inconsistency of Stade Rochelais since the start of the season, before hosting Stade Toulousain this Saturday in the Top 14. The pillar regrets that his team waits until their backs are against the wall to wake up.
France
Rugby
