While his team finished the year strong, with three wins in four games, and Stade Monois is only five points from sixth place, the manager of the Landes club, Patrick Milhet, refuses to talk about qualification.
Before the break, your team had embarked on a block of all dangers. With three wins out of four matches, were you satisfied?
Already, if I take stock of the first part of the championship, it is disappointing. We are not at all in the objectives, not to mention qualification or anything. I’m talking about at least winning the matches at home. This is the basis. We’ve lost three times at home, it’s very disappointing. From there, one cannot be satisfied with the first part. Everyone was worried, or still worries, about the group, but I think they showed great things, great rugby, great determination, commitment in important matches. We were able to win in Angoulême, in Oyonnax. We beat all the top six teams at home: Grenoble, Biarritz, Brive, Béziers. From an accounting standpoint, we are not on track, but rugby-wise, on the last block, I want to tell you that it is positive. On paper, we saw us losing at Oyonnax, we thought the team was going to be in difficulty against Grenoble and Béziers, but we won at Oyonnax, we beat Grenoble at home. So yes, we were in difficulty in Valence, but I think that the players already had the lead in Béziers, which we also beat. To come back to your question, I am satisfied, on the whole, with the accounting plan, the British classification, but above all with the state of mind and the content.
What do you think has changed since the slap you received against Dax?
There was a lack of precision in conquest! In the match at Dax, we did not materialize our highlights. We take 40, blows like that, we’ll take more, but what hurts is that it’s a derby. The thing is, we had some highlights that we didn’t score on that day. They came and scored too easily. Furthermore, against Dax, we didn’t hold the ball, there were stupid mistakes and we didn’t have the ball to conquer. From there, it’s hard to compete. Young coaches must also be able to get their bearings, and the group in charge. These are things that are done little by little, which require a lot of concentration and precision. It’s just happening…
Do the latest good results allow Stade Montois to revise its ambitions upwards?
No ! Today, we refrain from looking upwards, we cannot afford to do so in relation to what happened. We have two games, if we lose, we will break our knees. There, our objective is to feed the British rankings. We are at +2, we must move away from the red zone as quickly as possible. Nothing is done. We are satisfied to have made a very good block, but we are not saved! All the teams need points, there will be a huge sprint in the second part of the championship. There, we go to two teams who are playing to maintain their position, then we will face teams who want to stay or enter the top six. It’s going to be very, very hard.
Do the players hear this speech, after this last block, which brought the team closer to the top six?
It’s a group that is filled with humility, healthy, and who wants to do good things. They are aware that they cannot be in the shoes of a team which absolutely must enter the top six. There, the group is aware that we must continue to save the club, to move away from the red zone. From the moment we start to move away from the red zone, that will mean that we had good matches, that there was content and that will bring us points in the accountant and on the British . Winning at home is good, but it’s not enough. We need to improve the British rankings by seeking points away from home or offensive bonuses at home. We will be really focused on that. Afterwards, we want to be able to reproduce the performances that we were able to achieve in the last matches. It’s important! If the group is aware that it is capable of playing this rugby, I want to tell you that the second part will be a little simpler.
What else will you expect from 2025?
The group’s potential is there. This first part of the season has been a roller coaster. We were capable of good, very good or bad. We didn’t even go through the average box! Colomiers, Aurillac and Agen are teams at our level, but we were losing the standoff. I don’t want this to happen again. This is not possible. I expect by 2025 that the group will realize its value and be able to perform well in all matches. All. I ask them to perform well in these fifteen matches. It is out of the question that we put in a performance like we were able to do in Nice, taking 40 in the derby, or almost 40 in Valencia. I am willing to accept losing matches, but not in conditions where we are bad.
You are attacking 2025 with two trips. Is this a good or bad thing?
It’s always complicated to come back from vacation and entertain people. The time to get the organisms back into the fight, the competition, there is always a mini adaptation time. The first, I prefer to travel, the second, I would actually prefer to receive. We are going to Aurillac, which won at home, which is very difficult to maneuver, because it is very dense. You’ll have to go there with the spiked combat helmet and be able to compete against a big pack.
The club formalized this Tuesday the arrival of Mosese Dawai and Harison Mataele. What do you expect from them?
They will have to acclimatize to the club, to the temperature, to the playing system, to be able to stay in the frame. These are two players who play at a high level. Harison Mataele is part of the Tonga national team. Mosese Dawai played with the Highlanders. I expect them to bring added value and energy to the group. Now, they’re not magicians. They are not going to wave a magic wand and cross the field. It will take time for them to adapt to our principles, then for them to bring this energy, this little extra, which will reboost the group. They will also bring healthy competition.
When do you plan to launch them?
As quickly as possible, as soon as we consider they are ready. It will be easier for Mosese than for Harison, who will have to take into account the touch and distribution of the forward play.
