UBB manager Yannick Bru admits to having thought the evening turned into a “catastrophe” after the expulsion of Yoram Moefana against Stade Rochelais, yesterday, at the end of the 7th day of Top 14. It was without counting a great and appreciated the reaction of his men to soften the score (32-22) after the break.
How do you explain these first forty minutes, light years from your standards at the start of the season?
We got into the match very badly with a lot of timidity in the collisions, first of all, which meant that we lost a lot of balls. We were more timid on the line against the Rochelais who we knew would attack quite furiously. The first half hour was catastrophic in terms of commitment and therefore technical mastery also became very weak. We spent the first half hour defending what was not at all planned. And all this topped off with a logical red card in the 33rd minute, so… On the other hand, we are quite proud to have won the second period 14 against 15 and finally to finish with ten points while we were down 25 to 3 at the break.
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Top 14 – Antoine Hastoy (La Rochelle): “We had things to get rid of”
What did you say to your men during halftime?
To regain authority, enthusiasm, confidence in collisions. We know that La Rochelle’s defense comes up strong and attacks the ball carriers. We had to regain confidence in ourselves to attack the intervals. In the second half, we saw the Bordelais coming into the intervals, playing in the spaces, trying to advance and then playing upright. It’s more in line with what we’re working on. Without a dozen technical errors – right throws, slag – we could perhaps grab a defensive bonus which would have rewarded the state of mind, which was excellent in the second half. But aside from that, our discipline – we finished with 17 penalties – is not acceptable at this level.
After the break, your conquest more than held its own against La Rochelle, a benchmark in the field…
We were a little better but a little constrained by injuries and the choices made. We had a bench (7-1) with a lot of forwards and some hybrid forwards. It’s true that we brought freshness to the pack which did us good in the second half. We showed better control but what is regrettable is losing a lot of balls without La Rochelle really deserving it. And we lack this ammunition to perhaps hope for a defensive bonus. We have plenty to work on. We’re still reassured about the guys’ state of mind because at 14 against 15, here, we have to “fight it out” for 50 minutes. It’s good not to have failed because there were all the ingredients combined to make it 50 after the first thirty minutes. Above all, I remember that the team did not collapse.
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Did you say the red card against Yoram Moefana was logical, after this head-to-head clash with Rochelais Jonathan Danty?
It is indisputable. This is a poor technical assessment. It’s a tackle, Yoram puts on the intensity but he has to duck. Obviously we don’t blame him because he has worked so hard for the team in recent months, he is a driving force in our rugby, but it’s true that it’s hard for him because I think that, given his start to the season, he deserved to have his chance as number one on the floor above (November tour with the XV of France, Editor’s note). I’m really disappointed for him, first of all. He’s a good boy, Yoram.
Your three-quarters were less comfortable than usual even if they were painful at times…
Once we freed ourselves a little from technical waste, things were much better. We changed 9, 10, 13 (Lucu, Jalibert, Depoortère) this weekend so it’s not trivial either, it also explains the slag. But we have to make changes because we know that, in this winding Top 14, we will have hard hits. We need to have alternative solutions, benchmarks, areas of work with different formulas. It was an assumed choice.
