While last year, the Héguy-Cassiem-Huguet trio played most of the matches, Grégory Patat can now rely on a wider range of players when composing his third line. A luxury to preserve a certain emulation internally and not pull too hard on the organizations.
Fourth in the ranking at the end of the first leg, it is in the shoes of a potential jump-off that Aviron Bayonnais will travel to Montpellier on Saturday. With the assumed ambition of outpacing a competitor in qualification, since the MHR is seventh in the ranking? “Before Castres, we received the seventh and we wanted to widen the gap. There, it is now the MHR which is seventh, but this team is confident, they master their rugby really well. We will go there to take up a challenge, challenge them and try to continue to collect points to consolidate our place in the top six”, explains Grégory Patat, the Aviron manager.
Also read:
Top 14 – Camille Lopez (Bayonne): “If we can consolidate this place in the six…”
Capilla, the aerial map
For this trip to Hérault, the latter should make seven changes, compared to the XV which beat Castres last week and align a third line composed of Uzair Cassiem, Esteban Capilla and Giovanni Habel-Kuffner. This will be the third time this season, after the matches against La Rochelle and Paris, that this trio has attacked a championship match. “Uzair carries the ball very hard, Esteban runs at 40 km/h, note Habel Kuffner. They are very good players. Esteban will also help us on the sidelines, with the absence of Chouzenoux”.
On Saturday, the former Sevens international will be one of the two air specialists in the sky and white pack, the second being Baptiste Héguy, who will be repositioned in second line (read below). “I want to keep a balance between jumpers and lifters, to be consistent in our strategy and to maintain regularity in this sector.” justifies Patat.
Patat: “I have two teams, even two and a half”
While last year, Héguy (26) played most of the matches alongside Pierre Huguet and Uzair Cassiem, the player trained at the club only started three Top 14 matches as a starter this season. The fault is a virus contracted in September and fierce competition in the third row. “Our championship is difficult, very homogeneous and we have to know how to create emulation in our grouprecalls Grégory Patat. Today, a player can no longer play a 25-game season. There has been an evolution over the last two years. I say it often, but in Bayonne, I have two teams or even two and a half. It's interesting to be able to handle a team with, in particular, several profiles in the third line, different complementarities and that's positive.f.”
Also read:
Top 14 – Fourth at mid-season? Aviron Bayonnais is happy with it!
So much so that with a certain wealth in this position, the absences of Rodrigo Bruni (concussion), Baptiste Chouzenoux (acromio) and Arthur Iturria (even if the last two can play four) will not force the Bayonne staff to dig in their heels. head to field a competitive third line. “The club is in the process of building a squad, underlines Camille Lopez. We take it step by step. Today we have a larger squad, which allows us to compensate for injuries, to not always have the same guys playing and with that, there is freshness, rotations.”
The astonishing return of Bourdeau
The best example? It is probably in the performance performed by Rémi Bourdeau last week. For his first Top 14 match this season, the third row, at the end of his contract, whose profile appeals to Olympic Biarritz, had no trouble rising to the level of his partners. Valuable in the air and strong in the forward fight, he showed his manager that he could also count on him in future lineups. “Rémi is an extraordinary key leader, insists Grégory Patat. He excels in the air and in collisions. I wanted someone who would hit hard against Castres and I didn't plan for him to play 80 minutes. I wanted to coach him earlier regarding his injury. It would have been legitimate for him to start this weekend, but he will be a substitute, because playing two matches with great intensity… In any case, he is a real soldier.” One more, on the third line.
Baptiste Héguy in four, first
Baptiste Héguy will discover the second line position this weekend, since he will start a match with the number four on his back for the first time in his career. “I would have hoped it would happen a little later, unfortunately, it's now. In general, the smaller the number behind the jersey, the older you are.”, he smiled Thursday noon at a press conference. “We had this project with “Tisto”continued his manager Grégory Patat. It's not a forced choice. We were starting to put him to work on this position. It wasn't warm… It's the first year. When Antoine (Battut) was there, we discussed it and we knew that one day he was going to be given a position like that. Today, we have an offensive system which wants us to be more direct, for the forwards to touch the ball more and for us to have fewer players in the corridors than in the past. Baptiste likes to touch the ball and the four position allows him to touch more. We see it in his collisions, he manages to win his duels against opponents. It's a good opportunity. We must not forget that he is a young player in the making and that he will grow. He is on the verge of the French team and he needs even more support to develop. I have used him more as an impact player in recent months and we have often been happy with his returns. He needs to gain concentration, it's still a little vulnerable, because when he's connected, he's a funny player. The high level requires repetition in performances and that is what he must seek, because he has all the assets. He is not far from 110 kilos, goes very fast, has good hands and has good knowledge of the touchline. He is one of the three captains and even though he is very introverted, he speaks well. I want him to become more independent and grow up a little.”
