This climb is not just the story of friends, but of a team whose objective was to climb. We had a team to be champions. “The fact remains that between the Pro D2 shield and an accession final, Damien Cler, today in Fédérale 2 in Nérac, assures us, he “signs immediately for the second option”. Stade Rochelais was armed for the title but missed it, notably for not having beaten Lyon and Agen, first and second in Pro D2.
Ten years of the rise of Stade Rochelais to the Top 14: In the semi-final, it could only be Pau
THE RISE IN POWER OF STADE ROCHELAIS (2/6) – To mark ten years of the club’s rise to the Top 14, we are republishing a series of six articles published in 2020, on the Yellow and Black. Second part: they thought they would host Narbonne, but it was the Section that the Rochelais hosted in the semi-final, at Marcel-Deflandre. An opportunity to erase two failures at Hamlet that they did not let pass (35-18)
The emotion of the half won against the Pau rival stifled on the evening of May 18, begins “the week too many. I can’t stand them anymore either. They want to tear my head off, I want to unscrew them, laughs Patrice Collazo. We don’t train well. I see myself intervening again saying “they gave us 30 twice (17-25 in La Rochelle, 33-18 in Agen, Editor’s note), they will do it again”. “
Leaders under pressure
“They had been applauded at home… But I saw that we were better than them. We wanted to show it,” remembers Cobus Grobler. A feeling maintained by his former forward coach, who is launching a “psychological war against [lui], against themselves and Agen. “He was always behind us “chattering”, but we had guys who were sure of themselves, very detached,” smiles Fabien Fortassin.
“By exciting them, I increase their desire to win: Agen arrives with so much certainty that our card is there. The Agenais were very complete, with very good rugby but their mistake was to have beaten us twice, continues Collazo. Very quickly, I understand that this is the loophole that must be exploited. “
The setbacks against the SUA parade in the living room. From morning to evening. “We knew each other by heart, it was the lever to activate,” swears the Varois. Up front, the leaders – Uini Atonio, Franck Jacob, Romain Sazy, Nicolas Djebaïli – are taking on crazy pressure and passing it on to a group that has never seemed so united and strong.
At the Bordeaux Lac hotel, gathered on Friday, two days before the final, change of context. “We tried to frame them so that they didn’t scatter. Everything had been worked on to be precise,” reviews Fabrice Ribeyrolles. “We were extremely well prepared,” greets Kévin Gourdon. Above all, the tension drops. The staff lets the players breathe, making classic jokes, like “mustard in the tap shoes,” laughs Fortassin.
Rugby: in pictures, discover the great history of Stade Rochelais
PORTFOLIO – Double European champions, the Rochelais are making rugby history. Did you know ? The history of Stade Rochelais began in 1898, making it one of the oldest rugby clubs in France. A look into the retro of an adventure in yellow and black
Need to “be brothers”
Arnaud Dorier, a promising 3rd line whose career was shattered by an injury in September (even if he doesn’t know it yet), collected words from families and photos to decorate the living room. The impact is immediate. “They tried to make us aware of the issues, and of what we represented,” underlines Romain Sazy. They were very good. “
The handover of the jerseys on Saturday remains engraved. The day before, a draw determined the ceremony, so that “there is a merger between forwards and three-quarters. We don’t need to be friends to win that day, but to be brothers, says Patrice Collazo, moved. The guys get a little naked, they really have to tell the other guy what they expect from him. There, we are no longer players. We’re just men. “
“It was super moving. We had to open up, share, confirms Gourdon. I handed it over to Clément Marienval, who had been between two waters all season but who had always held on. And he plays the final. I was very happy to hand it over to him. “ “I gave it to Franck Jacob. It was his very last match, I had this responsibility, said Fabien Fortassin. I adored him, we both lived in L’Houmeau. I was happy to give it to him. These are moments that stand out. “
The time to go to the stadium had come. After the tension and emotion, it’s time for the big day. “We only wanted one thing: for the match to start,” slips Romain Sazy.
“THE internship is the turning point”
INSTAGRAM JULES LE BAIL
Some of the players went fishing. In theory…
If the maritime group found the little extra thing to set up and complete its union, it certainly owes it to a stay made in mid-April in the Arcachon basin. “The famous internship,” laughs Kévin Gourdon. He did us a lot of good. Sometimes it doesn’t matter much. It’s important to experience these things together with great guys. “Moments like this, when there is no one nearby, make a difference, change a season,” emphasizes Cobus Grobler. I was in the room with “Djeb” (Nicolas Djebaïli, Editor’s note), I remember how much we talked and enjoyed ourselves. You don’t win a championship on orange juice, sometimes you need a good beer. “
“There, for the record, they made me a goat, these idiots,” laughs Patrice Collazo.
A ? Or even… “There, for the record, they made me a goat, these idiots,” laughs Patrice Collazo. Besides, it’s not an internship, it’s THE internship. They will recognize themselves, those who shouted “It’s THE internship” at the back of the bus. “But why did this Gironde stay have such an impact? “It started with a stop at a highway rest area to pick up some ammunition. We were up to speed on arrival, laughs Romain Sazy. We were under Patrice’s control, except that we were at his friends’ house… He had planned activities, fishing and golf. “The game on the green didn’t make any waves. On the boat, however, it was a different story.
“It’s legendary. I will remember it all my life. I’m really happy to remember it,” says Kévin Gourdon. “All the lines are tangled, we lasted five minutes,” explains Fabien Fortassin. “No fish, no water or “ammunition”… With Franck Jacob, we went to see the pilot, he was cooperative, and took us to Cap Ferret, continues Romain Sazy about this hijacking of the ship. The temperature rose, we went to a convenience store, it escalated to stupidity (laughs). We came across a very cooperative bartender… “
“I don’t know who is the smart one in the group who made an offering to the sea, throwing his t-shirt and glasses, but we came home half naked. Thomas Soucaze had dived in the port, Sazy continues, then nicknamed “Walker Texas Ranger”, in homage to Chuck Norris. In the meantime, we were so happy, so united, that we called Patrice, who was on a golf cart with a Perrier… We sang to him “We’re going to Bordeaux”. It was a great moment, this release. But we had a little trouble getting out of the bus… “
“The conditions were exceptional, but it was a struggle to keep them under pressure, there were enormous temptations for a group of rather “borderline” guys (limits, Editor’s note). They left dressed, they all came back in their underwear, I never understood. They told the captain “you leave us the keys, we will leave when we want”, laughs the current Toulon manager. When they get back to the hotel, they all walk past me looking at their sunburned feet, bordering on sunstroke. None of them walked straight but, somewhere, I wanted them to be able to break certain rules to build a state of mind. Even today, they are able to send me messages where they write to me “It’s THE internship”… ““We had been stupid, but also a pact on the fact of meeting in Bordeaux on May 25 , swears Fortassin. We said to ourselves that we would have to take responsibility. “When we had to play elimination matches, we were ready,” agrees Gourdon. “THE internship is the turning point of the season, that’s the truth,” concludes Sazy.
