Pro D2 – Decryption – Why Agen will finally send its big team to Brive?

At the end of the match against Aurillac (43-17)the question was asked to Rémi Vaquin: will the SUA tour in Corrèze, or will it send the big composition? “Surprise,” he retorted, with a mischievous smile. The staff decided to cover their tracks until Wednesday morning, during the implementation. Finally, the choice was made to align the best composition of the moment, while taking into account those absent (Dorian Bellot, Peyo Muscarditz, John Madigan, Arnaud Duputs, Alex Burin and Jean-Marcellin Buttin). Here are some explanations.

A turnover that has not often paid off

The staff was often criticized last year, notably half-heartedly by Jeff Fonteneau, for having filmed in Brive on March 8, before two weeks of vacation. The SUA lost heavily (29-3) while the dynamic was rather interesting.

Behind, on their return from vacation, the Agenais had missed the qualifying wagon, heading towards a gloomy end to the season. This turnover was strongly criticized when reviewing the season.

More recently, Sébastien Calvet decided to change everything to go to Grenoble at the beginning of November. Despite great resistance, the SUA gave up in the last quarter of an hour, losing clearly (37-10). While the dynamic was positive, this choice did not pay off since Arnaud Duputs’ partners subsequently suffered three other defeats. There is a world of difference to say that this turnover is the cause, but the observation is there.

The SUA remains on two convincing victories

Furthermore, we must emphasize the form of the moment. The Lot-et-Garonnais have just won two offensive bonuses against Oyonnax and Aurillac. Calvet announced a target of ten points on this block. He has them. From now on, it’s a bonus, even if the setback against Montauban in Armandie has not yet been made up for.

Furthermore, the group is starting to gain in automation. Upsetting everything at once might have seemed unreasonable. This is why executives like Olmstead, Demotte, Searle, Ramoka, Garrigues, Pourteau, Socino or Lebian will attack the match. The young Fineanganofo and Gayraud will also be there. A huge challenge also for the Agen pack, dominating since the start of the season, but which will challenge that of Brive, which is perhaps, on paper in any case, the best in the division.

Two weeks of rest after the match

Despite the question of leaving certain players to rest (like Vincent Farré who will not be traveling), Calvet has decided. His players will benefit after this match from the regulatory two weeks of rest before two receptions in quick succession from Provence Rugby then Biarritz.

The opportunity to regenerate the bodies and recover the good people since Dorian Bellot, Peyo Muscarditz and John Madigan should be fit for the recovery. Only Arnaud Duputs and Jean-Marcellin Buttin, if there is no breakage in Corrèze, will be missing.

Young people revived on the bench

Despite the typical XV of the moment, the Lot-et-Garonnais staff still wanted to restart players on the bench. This is particularly the case of young Matthieu Bonnet, Théo Idjellidaine and Emile Dayral. The first came out of small physical problems while the other two were systematically out of the group. With the absence of Bellot, Idjellidaine has a real card to play. Dayral, for his part, must finally offer guarantees to his manager, barred by competition from Franck Pourteau and Billy Searle. Furthermore, this young hinge is at the end of his contract. The opportunity to send a signal before the future decision of the management team.