Peceli Yato has shown himself to be particularly motivated before facing Bayonne (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.). The Fijian flanker expects a huge fight up front, where the Basques will be seeking revenge for their last defeat against Pau.
Bayonne manager Gregory Patat announced that his players would have to fight a big battle up front. Have you prepared accordingly?
All the Top 14 teams have this ambition. It’s normal for their coach to say that. Julien Laïrle (Editor’s note: Clermont forwards coach) also made his speech along these lines. He has the same mentality as Grégory Patat so that the forwards are all involved. Every week we focus particularly on the forwards. But in recent days, we have increased this work even more because we know that the Bayonnais will be physically heavy and we are ready to show them that we also have strong players with striking qualities. So it will be war in my opinion (laughs).
Does this challenge excite you?
Yes, it’s a context that I like, the conquest will be exciting to see because we will know who will be the strongest. That’s our goal, we have to show the other teams that we can do the job. If you’re not in this mentality from 1 to 8 you’re not in the right place. The forward pack has this role of having the right physical and mental qualities. We have to show that we can do the job.
Did Thomas Ceyte, former Bayonne player, give you any advice before facing Aviron?
Yes! He is new here but he is still an experienced player, he knows how to do things and he also takes the responsibility of leadership. You have to follow him. He is a great guy, he jokes a lot!
Personally, how do you feel after two days of the championship?
Very good. The connections are great with the other players. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that, even with the new players. Our state of mind is rising and you can see it in our matches. We play for each other. Against Racing, we lost because they played against us.. We conceded three tries in six minutes, we are the only ones responsible. We regenerated this week, and I think our level will rise again.
Christophe Urios has spoken a lot about his desire to see you play more against Bayonne. Concretely, what does he expect from you, in terms of state of mind?
The team he put in has experience so he will expect a lot of work from us from the forwards and then we will see with the three-quarters who will have to help us with speed. But the most important thing will be to play as a team with a precise axis between the defense-attack connections which will be crucial. We will have to be aggressive and have the desire to win
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