In the Champions Cup, Stade Rochelais, which got off to a good start in Bath last Friday, will try to confirm this Saturday evening by hosting Bristol. After a 24-20 success at Bath, leader of the Premiership, the Maritimes will now test themselves against the second in the English championship. Two weeks after a defeat against Vannes, the last of the Top 14, the Rochelais will find their audience. “After the lost meeting, the next day, I lowered my head as I went to get my bread. If there had been insults, we would have deserved it.” said Ronan O’Gara, the manager of Stade Rochelais a few days later. “It’s not erased after Bath, I don’t forget.” the Irishman told us again after the four points taken in England.
“When we decide, we are unstoppable” – Grégory Alldritt –
This feeling of shame was also widely shared by La Rochelle supporters after this first setback at home, against the promoted side and last in the standings. “These are not our standards.” repeated Grégory Alldritt, the captain before the first trip to England. A captain who spoke in Bath to reassemble his troops. “In the European Cup, the strong win, the weak lose. So tonight we decide what we want to be ok? So we have two hours now before kick-off to think about that. We are the strong or the weak tonight. But I think that when we decide to do so, we are unstoppable.”
Stade Rochelais
With the reception of Bristol, the Maritimes cannot lower the commitment cursor now. The Bears soundly defeated on their lawn against Leinster 35 to 12 no longer have the choice to hope to qualify for the 8th finals. A defeat at La Rochelle would not be a definitive stop for Bristol, but a missed start, for a course of obligatory victories afterwards. If in Bath, the rain was present throughout the meeting, in La Rochelle, the sky will be clement this Saturday evening. An opportunity without doubt for the Bristol players to show that they are players, and capable of constantly restarting. But for opener Ihaïa West, who started once again against Bristol, no worries:
“We know that when we want, we can play good rugby with passes” – Ihaïa West –
“We know that when we want, we can play good rugby with passes, we have talented backs to do it. But the most important thing is to play at the right time. We don’t want a player under pressure, in our camp. Play at home first and make the right decisions.”
Composition of Stade Rochelais:
The holders: Reda WARDI, Tolu LATU, Uini ATONIO, Kane DOUGLAS, Will SKELTON, Oscar JEGOU, Matthias HADDAD, Greg ALLDRITT (cap), Tawera KERR-BARLOW, Ihaia WEST, Teddy THOMAS, Jonathan DANTY, Ulupano SEUTENI, Jack NOWELLY, Dilly NOWELLY
The replacements: Quentin LESPIAUCQ, Louis PENVERNE, Georges-Henri COLOMBE REAZEL, Ultan DILLANE, Levani BOTIA, Judicaël CANCORIET, Thomas BERJON, Jules FAVRE
If La Rochelle wins against Bristol this Saturday evening, the Maritimes would open the doors a little further to the 8th finals. Certainly, there will still be the reception of Leinster on January 12 and the trip to Treviso a week laterbut the “road” would therefore be a little simpler than last season, where after two defeats in the group stage, La Rochelle found itself obliged to win at Sale to avoid elimination. But be sure, eliminated last year in the quarter-final against Leinster, the Rochelais this time have this objective of completing the group stage with four successes, to find themselves at the top of the general table, with an 8th place behind. home and very surely also a 1/4 final. To be continued…
