Forfeiting Hyères-Carqueiranne and the end of the block, Racing Club Narbonnais must wait three weeks before returning to competition after the victory this Saturday against Tarbes (27-12). But on February 15 (7 p.m.), the Audois are eagerly awaited for the arrival of Chambéry at the Parc des Sports.
“The ogre of the chicken arrives at the Parc des Sports in three weeks”. From the final whistle of the match against Tarbes this Saturday evening, and the 14th victory of the season, Sébastien Logerot and the Racing Club Narbonnais were already looking towards the next deadline. Not the least. The arrival of the undisputed leader of the National, Chambéry on February 15 (7 p.m.). The orange and black now have three weeks to prepare for this next match, forced and forced to spend two weekends without competition due to the Hyères-Carqueiranne package and the rest linked to the end of the block.
Several players heading back
The Racingmen will have time to work, get their heads back on track, perfect their game plan and find the necessary ingredients to overcome a team like Chambéry. Because if the Narbonnais returned to the path of victory against Tarbes (27-12) following the slap received in Rouen, they have not yet reassured or shown a face worthy of the ambitions displayed. A glaring lack of efficiency, like these four balls two meters from the goal in the first half (15th, 18th, 26th and 32nd), an exacerbated feverishness defensively, particularly on several occasions on the outside (10th, 19th and 46th) or even notable clumsiness throughout the match. So many elements which did not allow Narbonne to get control of this match and this opponent.
“If we play against Chambéry, like against Tarbes, it won’t happen”argued Captain Paul Belzons. Rightly so since the opponent appearing at the Park on February 15 is of a completely different caliber. Chambéry is a leader (70 points) four points ahead of the runner-up Rouen (66) and five over Narbonne (65), a team with incredible pragmatism since the start of the season, like Friday evening on the Bourg- in Bresse where the Savoyards fed off the slightest Aindin error (5-32). Intractable at home, manager Cyril Villain's men are riding on their cloud and their eight offensive bonuses.
“It's up to us to prepare well. If we want to have great finals, that means big victories at home. That's the big thing, the team in good shape. We talked a lot about the match in Rouen, we have to learn a lesson, rectify our situation and learn from our mistakes. We will have to raise our level of play to know where we are. I hope that we will have a lot of support from our public.says Narbonne defense coach Sébastien Logerot. Followed by his captain Paul Belzons: “This match will allow us to stay in the Top 2 or not. It’s up to us to show the strength of our team. We need our supporters, the supporters and we will do everything to make them vibrate.”
-Chambéry faces Carcassonne next Saturday
To succeed in making the Parc des Sports roar again, the Narbonnais have the advantage of having time to heal the wounds and perfect their strategy. Racing could find a larger workforce. The second row Marius Antonescu is feeling better and better, the third row Arthur Christienne is close to a return, just like the scrum half Pablo Barbaste five months later and the winger Pierre-Hugo Ducom soon infiltrated at the hip at Montpellier. We will surely have to wait a little longer to see center Pierre Nueno again following his dislocated shoulder.
And while Racing will train and find several strong forces, Chambéry has a big challenge at home next Saturday against neighboring Aude Carcassonne (February 1). And if the spiral of (over) confidence of the Savoyards was cut off by the best enemies of the Narbonnais, it would not be too much before this real turning point of the season for Julien Seron's men.
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