OWe breathe much better on the Armandie side. Apnea after a series of four defeats which had plunged it into doubt and into the depths of the ranking, the SUA offered itself a big breath of fresh air by stringing together two improved victories at home against Oyonnax (28-14) and Aurillac (43-17). In one week, Sébastien Calvet’s men went from being near dunces in the class (12e with four points ahead of the last and two over the jump-off) to brilliant students with a 10/10 which allowed them to return to the soft underbelly (9e), halfway between the top 6 and the play-off.
Now seven steps ahead of Oyonnax (15e) and six behind Provence Rugby (6e), the balance however remains precarious for the Agenais, between the ambition displayed at the start of the season to compete in the final phases and that which was imposed at the end of November to protect themselves as quickly as possible from an industrial accident . “Two weeks ago, we would have signed to take 10 points from these two matches,” insists aerial coach Rémi Vaquin, relieved by the turn of events. “It boosts morale a little after the series of four defeats, including three on the road. »
“We have seen progress”
If there was not yet a fire at the lake and manager Sébastien Calvet repeated that there was “no crisis”, the SUA played very big despite everything on the last two receptions. He knew how to negotiate them perfectly and inevitably comes out of it better. “We knew that we had room for improvement, which could go quickly, that there were just details to be resolved,” recalls Rémi Vaquin. We did it and I think we are gaining momentum. We have seen progress in the last two matches. We have a team that is starting to know how to play well together, to assimilate the project and to have connections. »
“We have a team that is starting to know how to play well together, to assimilate the project and to have connections”
Result: ten tries scored in two matches and the feeling that this group has reached a milestone. While they could have played it easy, been tense by the stakes of these “matches of fear” in a stadium where they have already fallen twice this season (against Nice and Montauban), the Agenais have on the contrary found their salvation through play. “If we don’t play, we will die out,” argues Rémi Vaquin. Producing play is the leitmotif of the staff, but it must above all be that of the players because they are the ones on the pitch. They have to believe in it and do it wholeheartedly. This is how we will get there. »
Recovery to be confirmed
The staff had made the state of mind the basis of the construction of their project. He can now also rely on a playing background. “We are trying more things,” confirms center Clément Garrigues. Sometimes it succeeds, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes we overplay, sometimes we score. It was important to finally pay for our good performances. As the matches progress, we gain confidence. It’s this confidence that we lacked. That’s why I’m very happy with the result. We are going to take a step forward in terms of this confidence and that will give us an advantage for the next matches. »
The next meeting, from Thursday in prime time (9 p.m.) in Brive, will be a real test for the Agenais. Even if their recovery is spectacular on an accounting level with plenty of points during the last two days, they ultimately only dominated two teams in the fight for maintenance. Can this renewal stand up to the test of the top 6 teams who will all come to Armandie (except Dax) for the return phase in 2025? With the successive receptions of Provence Rugby (January 10) and Biarritz (January 17), the SUA will quickly be fixed. So backfire or backlash?
