After the close elimination of his team against UBB, the Parisian manager, Laurent Labit, questioned the decisions of Mr. Brousset, “one more element against us”.
Special envoy to Bordeaux
Is it a semi-final like your season, strong on the bases and poor offensively?
Laurent Labit: Everyone saw the playing conditions. We weren’t going to expose ourselves… We played with the qualities that are ours. We unfortunately had a bad start to the match by easily giving the score to UBB due to our indiscipline. We reacted well but we didn’t score on our very good offensive chance just before half-time. But there are repeated fouls at five meters – I count 6. We knew that there would be a lot of elements against us. We knew the ground, the supporters, but we had not identified another one at the start. And it was a big problem for us throughout the match, especially the last minutes with a very difficult decision to accept. Not to give us a penalty try on a maul that goes into the goal. Contrary elements therefore, but I am proud of my team, of what they accomplished with almost everything against us. It’s difficult, it’s cruel but it’s the highest level. UBB needed four semi-finals to reach the final; We will try to earn the right, the credibility to have the boost that allows us to win these matches…
In your opinion, the referee should have awarded you the penalty try which would have allowed it to go into overtime?
Yes ! Instead, we score from a corner with a much more difficult transformation… Friday evening, Rochelais Nowell took a yellow card from his first anti-play fault. For us, it took six at the end of the first half and three at the end of the match for the referee to finally give a yellow card. But still not granting the penalty try… It’s complicated for my players. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the referee’s decisions. Even if we are aware of having given points too easily to Bordeaux and of not having scored what we should have scored.
Read alsoTop 14: in video, the failed transformation of Segonds which sends the UBB to the final
Joris Segonds seemed devastated after his failed transformation…
It’s difficult for him. But he made the team win so often. It would be a shortcut to make him take responsibility for the defeat tonight. His teammates went to see him straight away to tell him that we win together and that we lose together… There are other factors which explain our defeat: our bad start, our discipline, our lack of realism at the foot like by hand. It is in this sector (offensive play, Editor’s note) that we must progress the most, it is obvious. This will be our goal for next season. We are very strong on the bases, on our defense, we now have to be fairer with the ball. We know our areas of work and we will work on them.
“Rory Kockott alternated between the good and the less good, perhaps he was not at the expected level this evening…”
Rory Kockott was not having a good day…
Rory, we all know him. He alternated between the good and the less good. As he is often in the crosshairs, even when things happen against him, the referee has difficulty identifying them. But he’s been playing Rory for us all season, he’s helped us, he’s gotten us this far. Maybe tonight not at the expected level but, throughout the season, he was at the level we expected him to be.
Is there still pride in your first season at the head of Stade Français?
The whole club is proud of this first season for us (Labit et Ghezal, Ed). It is a continuation of the work carried out in past seasons by the previous staff. It’s a whole club that is finding its colors and its place. The SFP must be able to play for the title every season. I am also proud to see the enthusiasm growing around our team. But that is not enough. There are those who tell the story and those who write it. We want to write it.
Comments collected at a press conference
