the essential
Castres rediscovered the taste of success at home, this Saturday afternoon against Pau (24-19). A match that he won thanks to good use of the kicking game.
This is how we sometimes recognize a team in doubt: when it uses the kicking game abundantly. This is what Castres Olympique did this Saturday to return to success at home. In Bayonne last week, he was criticized for overplaying in the last quarter of an hour. So, facing the Section, the Tarnais did not venture into fanciful actions which could have turned against them. We saw them play very little after contact (only six such passes) or throw balls from their camp. Nor even chain playing times in the center of the field.
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Each time they failed to find an advance, the Blue and White used the kicking game. Either pressure or occupation to lock the Béarnais in their camp. “With the conditions, we opted instead for a very long kicking game of the 9. It’s one of Jérémy’s (Fernandez) strengths. It’s our scrum half who has the longest kicking game. We have knew how to use it well The rucks were well organized, we were not under pressure and Jérémy had enough time to play at home,” rejoiced the Olympian manager, Jeremy Davidson.
39 kicks
“We had to reassure ourselves about things we are good at. We have a lot of players who perform very well in aerial duels. We also tried to play in empty areas,” added Rémy Baget, the Castres winger. “It worked for us , at least in the first half.” Where the CO has reached 55% occupancy.
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At times, we had the impression of witnessing a giant ping-pong match, but these winning streaks often tilted in favor of the locals, who totaled 39 kicks – like Pau –, which represents more than 1,200 meters gained. Valuable in camp outings, Jérémy Fernandez kicked the ball 14 times (match record). Even more striking figure, Pierre Popelin, the Castres fly-half, made fewer passes than kicks according to Opta (8 against 9), the same goes for Julien Dumora (5 against 8). Which illustrates the desire of the Castres, this Saturday, not to embarrass themselves with the ball.
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Even if they had initially planned to produce more play. Cooled by a complicated start and a pitch made damp by the rain, the locals played the card of kicking the game. Their first attempts were conclusive against the third curtain in Pau. So they insisted. And they did well.
Morocco
