The opponent: Soyaux-Angoulême, not very comfortable at Chanzy
They are in the process of redressing the situation, but it is not there yet. For now, Soyaux-Angoulême is in penultimate place in the Pro D2 standings at home. The Charentais have a record of 2 victories, 1 draw and 2 defeats. Fortunately for them, they compensated perfectly away, with 3 successes far from their bases. The VRDR may have a card to play.
The fact: A synthetic field suitable for play
This is not (yet?) the norm in Pro D2 but the Chanzy stadium has a synthetic turf. Enough to favor a Drôme team which likes to keep the ball alive and move the opposing team. “The conditions will be good, with a synthetic pitch, our intention is to put in a mobile team,” warns Fabien Fortassin.
The number: 129
This is the number of points for Lucas Méret, best director in Pro D2 since the start of the season. Except that the opening half will not be there this Friday, for the first time this season (he had made 9 starts and 2 substitutes until then). He will be replaced in his position by Joris Moura, usually positioned at the back.
The player: Sami Zouhair, the Drôme player from Angoulême
Starting for the fourth time this season as the left pillar of Soyaux-Angoulême, Sami Zouhair will not play a match like any other. He, the former US Rhône XV player, trained at VRDR and whose family lives near the Georges Pompidou stadium, must have ticked this date in his calendar.
The phrase: “We must not be consumed by the stakes”
In Nevers (27-17 defeat), Valence Romans had not managed to put his head in the right place to distance himself from a competitor for maintenance. In Soyaux-Angoulême, against a team which is currently in front, we must not make the same mistakes. “We must not be consumed by the stakes like in Nevers. We have to get into the match straight away, put our game in place because if we let them take 2, 3 tries, it will be very complicated” alarms Thomas Lhusero.
Senegal