the essential
SCA manager Mathieu Bonello shared his immense disappointment at seeing his team eliminated by Suresnes in the National play-off at home this Saturday evening (18-21).
Can we talk about a worst-case scenario for the SCA?
Of course, when you lose at the last second, you can’t have a worse scenario. We were able to come back after conceding this try four minutes from the end and on this last action, we took a penalty and we lost.
Does the construction of your meeting need to be reviewed?
We didn’t have a great match, that’s for sure. I found the team still dejected from last week. And I can’t understand it. It’s a fail.
What were your first words to the players?
I said it was a disappointment and that the job hadn’t been completely done. We were unable to recover from our setback in Nice. The team was tested physically and mentally, which was our strong point throughout the season.
There were certainly injuries, but we felt a team lacking automatisms in its play.
It’s undeniable. When you have injuries, it’s like that, you have to replace them with other guys. However, as we had rotated this season, the players should be able to continue.
How can we explain that this regular rotation did not provide the necessary automatisms for this play-off match?
I think we were paralyzed by the challenge of the final stages. I regret. If you usually play with a typical XV, you know what to expect when you have absentees. But there… it’s hot.
Do you have the feeling that you did not recognize your players?
At times yes. But it wasn’t enough. Playing a play-off match like that, with a small production, I tell myself that we spent the whole year ahead for not much.
