Architect of the historic victory of RC Vannes, qualified for the first time in its history in the Pro D2 final, Maxime Lafage did not really use the tongue in cheek at the end of the meeting. On the contrary. The opening half clearly announces the color. The RCV now wants to win the title of champion of France.
Do you realize what you have achieved by qualifying for a historic first final for the RCV?
I was talking about it with Jules Le Bail, I think I don’t yet realize what we did. I’m just happy for the staff, for the public who don’t necessarily know rugby well but who follow us like all the time. People are fully behind us, every day. But I don’t yet realize that we have made history. Quite simply because I am a competitor. And we have one last match left from which I hope we will emerge victorious.
When you arrived at the port, the welcome was incredible. How did you experience it?
I had the impression of arriving at the Marseille velodrome stadium. It was huge. That got us into the swing of things. We quickly knew where we were going. The public was waiting for us to make them dream, that’s what we did. And I’m happy for the group but the road is still long.
The Vannes defeated ASBH (27-21) thanks to the activity of its pillar Andy Bordelai and the mastery of Michael Ruru. On the Béziers side, the inaccuracies and mistakes of the experienced Tim Nanai-Williams were costly.
Notes > https://t.co/VePLkVzxV6 pic.twitter.com/skilsNc9bl
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) https://twitter.com/RugbyramaFR/status/1796655653601137026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, you sometimes seemed inhibited by the pressure…
A large part of the squad had not played for three weeks. We had to get back into the swing of things, it took us a little time. I missed this first penalty which didn’t put us very well into the match. But we were more consistent than in our last match at La Rabine against Brive. We were able to build the match brick by brick, to drive home the point at the end of the match. Until this last action where we were a little afraid. We had all seen the match against Brive during the play-off and we asked ourselves questions. But we defended very well. It shows the character of the team.
Do you feel like you were pragmatic?
What is certain is that we knew how to score at the right time. We were able to keep our advantage on the scoreboard. We showed maturity without ever panicking.
Was the quality of your defense decisive?
In tough matches like this, it’s not rugby that allows you to win. Watch the European Cup final. It wasn’t the best rugby-wise. But in the desire, in the solidarity, it was enormous. And that’s how we won the match.
Read also :
Pro D2 – Vannes crucifies Béziers and joins Grenoble in the final
Are you going to celebrate this historic success?
We’ll have a few beers, but I’ll have a taste if we lose in the final. We will quickly change.
From now on, is the objective to climb into the Top 14?
I hope so ! If the club is happy with a final, I have nothing to do here. We play to win. The ultimate goal now is to win.
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