USB will travel to Aveyron on Sunday, September 22, with the status of leader. The large victory (36-16) with bonus points against Malemort allows Chauveau and his partners to occupy first place alone. The Bergeracois did not tremble in front of the Corréziens.
They proved effective by scoring five tries, including a hat-trick from centre Leonardi. But the USB still has room for improvement and the whole thing could have worked better. “We had a lot of waste,” admits coach Rémi Escudier, who is of course very satisfied with this five-point victory. “We need to hold the ball longer and increase our level of play.”
Progress is expected in offensive rucks and discipline. USB was often whistled for two-man tackles, prohibited in Federal 2, or for high tackles, “so many faults to erase”.
The same state of mind
Last season, the Bergeracois never managed to achieve the slightest success on the opposing pitch. Will they have the weapons to beat the Aveyronnais at home? “It’s a perilous trip,” admits Rémi Escudier. Decazeville is a team that produces a lot of play. We must keep the same state of mind, whether at home or away, do everything not to concede too many points.” The Aveyronnais, beaten in the first match at Causse Vézère (35-28), will enter the pitch with the ambition of erasing this defeat in front of their home crowd.
Little changed in the off-season, the Bergerac group has established collective benchmarks. “The return of the old players, like Casagrande and Marty, brings experience and serenity, rejoices Escudier. Same observation for Chapon and Thizon, who knew the club well. These players are an added value for the club and for the youngsters.”
The Bergerac coaches will have almost all of their squad. A positive point that forces the coaches to make choices. In this competitive context, Escudier and Delmas will choose “men in form”. One absence, however, is already to be deplored: Mathieu Serre, a key player in 2023-2024 at the fly-half position, should be absent from the field for a long period, having recently suffered a cruciate ligament rupture.
Decazeville (7th/1 pt) – Bergerac (1st/5 pts)
Place Decazeville (Camille-Guibert stadium). Hourly Sunday, September 22 at 3:30 p.m. Arbitrator Mr. Martinez (Occitanie).
BERGERAC The group: Lidon, Labadie, Fonteille, André, Pizzio, Talia’Uli, Marty, Paviot, Chauveau, Lajonie, Gaspard, Rouget, Gacem, Dheure, Chapon, Gipoulou, Volte, Leonardi, Thizon, Labat, Fauverte, Auzard.
Diary
The next two USB matches at Gaston-Simounet will take place on Saturday evening: the reception of Lormont on September 29 (at 7 p.m.) and that of Riom on October 19. For the derby against the neighbors of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, scheduled for Saturday October 26 or Sunday October 27, nothing has been decided yet.
