“Our place is that of an ambitious outsider”

UBB finished the first leg with 8 points more than last season, and with its 2^e biggest total at this stage of the competition. What does this inspire you?

This shows that there is progress compared to last year. This also highlights a regularity in our results. We took points almost everywhere, except in La Rochelle where a red card hurt us. We lost in Lyon on the siren, we could have hoped for better. But we also have a victory that is a miracle in Vannes. Things are balancing out. But in this mid-season assessment, it is important to see that we are moving in the right direction. We have a squad which has the capacity to challenge itself internally and which maintains a high level of ambition whatever the rotations, which we undoubtedly lacked last season.

“We tend to make the necessary efforts when our head is under the guillotine”

You missed the symbolic title of “fall champion” by one point. Would that have highlighted something more?

It would have boosted everyone's egos, that's for sure. But I've been here for a season and a half, I know that the outsider position suits our group better, rather than the one where you can put your hands at the top of the handlebars. I'm happy that we're staying behind the locomotive (Toulouse). We are in our place which is that of an outsider who has a lot of ambitions but also a lot of humility. In this Top 14, we cannot ride mechanics.

Preferring the position of outsider, isn't this where the UBB still needs to progress?

We have a hardworking, very endearing group, with very rich personalities. But we must always work on this border between efforts, pleasure, and the level of responsibility that we must have in a club which invests so much, which places us in the best conditions. We must always progress on this sense of responsibility. But I want us to maintain this side of pleasure which makes us end up with a smile. We sometimes tend to forget to set the alarm, to start the match at 1^re minute, to make the necessary efforts when your head is under the guillotine… We are working on all that. I have the impression that there has been an improvement in recent weeks but nothing is certain.

Is this what separates you from Stade Toulousain?

Today, everything separates us from him. There is already the prize list that speaks for itself. He is the locomotive of the Top 14 but we are not trying to copy him. We trace our path, we follow our history which is different. We always draw inspiration from the best, whether in France or abroad. But we really want to follow our path with our wealth, our differences and our heritage.

For several weeks, the staff and players have felt like they have acquired the “culture of winning”. How does it translate into everyday life?

I don't really like this word “winning culture”. We simply tell the players that if we are going to be beaten, it must be by someone better than us. We know the high potential of the squad. The idea is that every minute with the UBB jersey, given the ambitions of the club, the structures in which Laurent (Marti, the president) places us, we must show our best face. In this sense, emulation within the workforce is a performance accelerator. This bubbling means that the players are on absolute vigilance. The “culture of winning” also refers to the opponents, there is only one champion in the end. I prefer that we work on ourselves and not have regrets. That's our common thread.

After the heavy defeat in the Top 14 final, did you expect to bounce back so well and so quickly?

I didn't expect anything. I believe more in the path we take, in the project. It's important to have a vision, a direction. We are in a club that wants to win titles. We have no guarantee of getting there, but the best way to hit the center of the target is to achieve excellence in the areas of performance, physical preparation, data analysis, logistics. … We also want to rely on our training center. And we want to continue to produce rugby based on initiative rather than on waiting or which relies on the opponent's error. Once this path was marked out, we just tried to improve ourselves in this vision. We quickly got back to work, asking ourselves the right questions. After six months of exercise, we haven't had a trip. We didn't do anything more. We just faced our responsibilities.

Despite this progress compared to last year, there is still plenty of room for maneuver…

We have many sectors in which we must progress, that’s obvious. In this winter rugby that we have been facing for three or four weeks, our state of mind is stronger, our solidarity is strengthened, our defensive efforts are better than last year. But our rugby is also a little less good. Collectively, we need to be more vigilant about many small details of our offensive game. Noel (McNamara, the backs coach) is not happy at the moment. We also have areas for progress in our conquest. We were making progress in Ulster and Castres. We found ourselves in a bit of difficulty again against Toulon on our sideline. It’s a work in progress. But we took things head on at the start of the season. Statistics don't tell everything. We have started work that will pay off.

“I am not approaching this period of doubles any more calmly. But we prepared”

We have mainly been talking about the UBB back lines since last season. Was the front pack stolen?

Yes. I know there is a quiet annoyance brewing in all the leaders of our pack. We have a lot of great current and future players. The forwards have high ambition. I see what happens every day. I have confidence in Brad (Poux, scrum coach), in Globus (Giorgadze, sideline coach), who will return to work with us next week (after a sick leave), and in Shaun (Sowerby, sideline ).

Last season, you were rightly wary of the “rough waters” of the Six Nations period. Are you afraid of them as much this year?

I always see them agitated. All these selections promote individuals and the club. But it's also difficult to manage. During these periods, we miss a lot of players in training. The logistics are also tough after these periods. Those who have been valued are necessarily less good. A selection is always disturbing. This leads to relaxation. All our young players called up saw a drop in their performance upon their return or suffered injuries. I don't approach this period of doubles any more calmly. But we prepared ourselves following last year's experience with a slightly stronger squad.

The main objective of the UBB is no longer the top 6 but the top 2?

We learned from last season. To try to succeed in the final phase, you must have a significant level of freshness. And therefore save yourself a play-off match. Last year, we played three matches in twelve days. Common sense tells us that we should avoid this. Maybe one day UBB will carry a trophy by taking a more complicated path. But our vision and our project, today, is structured around that.