Rugby: the SA XV maintains its very good habits in Dax

The editorial team advises you

On the contrary, it overwhelmed the Dacquois, who remained on 13 consecutive victories at home, almost a year of invincibility, and who suffered the law of an Angoumois team which travels much better than it receives (8-18).

This is in fact the third consecutive success for the SA XV in three trips this season after Aurillac and Nice. The fifth in six matches, if we add the end of the previous season and the victories brought back from Agen and Nevers to ensure continuation during a sunny spring.

President Didier Pitcho indicated at the start of the season that he was aiming for a total of 15 points in this first block of five rather tricky matches. The SA XV has 14, and we certainly won’t do the fine loop.

Manu Saubusse’s masterclass

Even if there will always be the frustration of not having made Brive surrender at the very end of the game to Chanzy. And “annoyance”, a term repeated again this Friday evening by club director Antoine Roger, of having washed out the match in twenty minutes last week against Montois.

Still in Chanzy. Because the Angoumoisins are still empty-handed on their synthetic before welcoming Provence Rugby on Friday October 11 after a weekend break and a few well-deserved vacation days which they will spend camped in sixth place in the Pro D2. With a smile.

This same radiant smile that they displayed on Friday evening in front of their supporters who had made the trip, after having responded to the meeting they had arranged. Eradicate the affront of Mont-de-Marsan and take up the challenge of combat against the Dacquois who presented a pack 60 kilos heavier.

But mass is not everything. Heart and aggression, yes. And the SA XV had enough to stand up to the Landais who opened the scoring with Cerisier in the fifth minute (3-0). The only regret from this first period: this long sequence of unproductive possession after a quarter of an hour of play and with numerical superiority on the opponent’s five meters. One touch and two penalties played manually, without success.

A touch sometimes disturbed by the Landais counterattack. But the scrum did the job perfectly, and Manu Saubusse continued over the minutes his “masterclass” on camp exits and the game of pressure and occupation. The new player-coach in charge of the kicking game was teaching the lesson. And it was even him who equalized just before the break (3-3, 37^e).

Without haste and with application

The SA XV was in its match and even took control from the restart. Dax was playing with fire in his 22 and the turnover allowed Dahir to score his first try in the Angoumois jersey (3-10, 42^e).

The Landais, who had lost the habit of being pushed around like this at home, suffered the blow, penalized more often than not. Captain Barrère received a new yellow for their tenth foul (45^e), and when they managed to return to the scoring zone, they came up against a newfound defense.

Saubusse added three points after a great collective effort from his scrum (3-13, 57^e), and we said to ourselves as the minutes went by that the feat, because it is one, was within reach. Especially since the experienced scrum half brought this “good tempo” to the game that Alexandre Ruiz had called for the day before.

Only Dax wasn’t going to give up so easily. Despite all the aggressiveness of the Angoumois defense, the pillar Laetigaga, “Lady” for the Landes supporters, brought the score back to 8-13 (61^e).

And that’s where the SA XV was great. Unfazed by the screams of the Dacquois public, like the referee Monsieur Lac, in fact. Cool head and hot hand to counter the opposing touch and return to camp in the Dacquois camp at the end of the match.

Without haste but with application, he conscientiously ran the scrum timer in penalty, facing an opponent who ended the match with 18 fouls on the clock, a sign of his helplessness.

The last even allowed Manu Saubusse to complete his team’s success after the siren (8-16).

Mr Saubusse, sorry.

Ruiz: “I am proud of the state of mind and the commitment”

Alexandre Ruiz (manager du SA XV): “Accounting, we are at fourteen points. We hadn’t set an accounting objective for the players, but we realize that we are able to travel, it’s super positive. We also realize that we are still reacting, as with the victory in Nice after the defeat in Chanzy against Brive. This is perhaps the negative point, it’s a shame. But I’m proud of what the players did in terms of mindset and commitment. We had a meeting this (Friday) evening on the fight, the players responded to what we had told them all week. In this sport, there are three fundamentals: conquest, kicking and defense. We weren’t there last week. I believe that this evening, on all three characteristics, we were present. It works, the players are capable of doing it, what’s more in difficult conditions. If you don’t want to experience difficult seasons and not have the pressure of winning every Friday night for years, you have to be able to string together performances, which we haven’t managed to do on this block. We will work on it. But we also have to say that we know how to travel, and that we have a strong base, with defense, but we are also capable of attacking. You have to be able to create a “mix”. I just ask people to be patient. »