All smiles after the improved success of the BOPB against Grenoble (35-15), Boris Bouhraoua, the head coach of the Basque club, was keen to salute, after the meeting, the composure of his team and the beautiful copy rendered in the occupation foot game.
Boris, what are the feelings after this improved victory?
There, we feel good. I’m happy to see people happy. I walked 20 meters, I met supporters, the leaders, I saw that people were happy. This is my reason for being. Now, if we talk about the pitch, we saw a great rugby match.
What did you think of your team’s mental resources?
The players had an incredible mental resource. Well done to them. We work a lot on this. Can you imagine how the players bounced back after last week? We move forward, we respect each other, we keep our processes. Last week, we fell from a height. Despite everything, we had a superb week and this evening there was perfect management of emotions. Resourcefulness is what characterizes our team. On July 3, when I presented the project, I talked about attack, defense, kicking and non-playing time. On that, it’s a story of mental capacity. Moreover, we have, on our staff, a mental trainer (Agathe Salques), who is there in the same way as a coach.
What did you think of the occupation foot game?
Compared to what we said during the week, what we’re working on and the match, it’s perfect. We wanted to make them go back, find the rebounds, the pitch. We had to be patient and it worked out for us. What makes the kicking game strong is also the entry of Edgar Retière. He returns for ten minutes, finds a penalty five meters from the goal, which brings, behind, the attempt of the offensive bonus.
Last week, young Yohan Tapie made a good start. This evening, Yoni Tuataane also weighed in on the end…
It’s huge. That’s what I said at the debrief. We saw 23 guys, but we have to congratulate 50 of them. Frankly, as soon as we used the young people from the training center, they were ready straight away. We integrated them from the start. They have quality, too, but we try to put them in good conditions. They respond, are well surrounded. Sometimes we underestimate what guys can get. Tonight, Yoni had 10 magnificent minutes. He will soon do 20, 30 then 40.
Does Masivesi Dakuwaqa still surprise you?
Of course ! He’s an X factor, I know what he’s capable of. What I like is that I saw him a bit as a guy who did his thing individually. He makes brilliant moves, but he is very interested in others, he is collective. It’s not just an impact player.
You attacked hard tonight. Was this the plan?
Yes. There are two things. I congratulate the physical trainers, Fred and Antoine. We know that we finish matches well, so that means we boost ourselves mentally to start matches and half-time returns well. We know that we must not miss the start of the half.
For you, is the key the negative point of the evening?
Honestly, it doesn’t freak me out. The conditions were too extreme for the touchline, although I would have liked to have had one or two more balls.
With four victories on this first block, will the objectives change?
No, we’re not going to look any further. The Pro D2 championship is a marathon. We played 5 matches, we are very happy with these four victories. Now, we will stick to the principles of work and humility.
Are you better prepared than some cars?
I can’t speak about the others, but in terms of what we want to do, we’re in it. I’m very happy that we have 18 points tonight. We are on time with what we planned. That’s what’s nice about rugby, the state of mind.
What is the program now?
We started on July 3, we came out of a block of 6 matches with the friendly match against Bayonne. The players go on vacation with a program. I want them to mentally shut down, not come to the stadium.
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