Present at a press conference this Friday, two days before the trip to Perpignan (Sunday, 6 p.m., 13th day of Top 14), Rochelais Joel Sclavi knows the importance of finally switching away from Deflandre. The Argentinian international pillar, number 3 of the Pumas, also talks about his more delicate situation at the club. He is preparing to experience his first start of the season, after four very mixed starts.
Joel, did you make an asado (Argentine barbecue) for Christmas?
Yes, the 24th. I spent New Year’s Eve in Bayonne, with the Argentinians who play there, with Guido Petti who plays for Bordeaux and Calles who plays in Pau. There were many of us. It’s family.
You are expected on Saturday by the Argentinians who are playing in Perpignan and, there, it will not be a party…
Yes, there are three (Jerónimo De La Fuente, Joaquín Oviedo, Ignacio) and, there, it’s going to be war! (laughs)
How do you approach traveling to Aimé-Giral, which you are starting to know well?
It’s a complicated stadium because there are a lot of supporters. The last match we played there, last season, was complicated (27-15 defeat, February 24, 2024, Editor’s note). As soon as they do good deeds, it gives them a lot of energy. We have to go there to stop this.
Much less hermetic than usual in this first half of the season, the defense of Stade Rochelais nevertheless remains as diabolical when it comes to disarming the opposing penetrating groupshttps://t.co/QPLfZlVyPq
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR)
You know this team is under pressure, at a 12e place which is not the one expected?
Yes, but so do we. We are sixth even though we started the championship well. We too have pressure. No pressure, but we want to have a good away match. Because otherwise, the first two will soar in the rankings and we will be far away.
Do you discuss the performances of Toulouse and Bordeaux away from home?
No, we try to talk about ourselves all the time, but the last away match (defeat at Castres), it was complicated… We only played half-time. Like against Clermont (last Saturday, at Deflandre). We played forty minutes. We are 17-3 at halftime and we have to kill the game. We want to play full matches. But for the moment, we can’t do it. In training, we are good, but we have to transfer it to matches.
How to cross this threshold?
We try in training to work more, to put more pressure. Today (Friday) was like a competition. There were tackles, we did long sequences, it was good training. We will try on Sunday to do the same thing.
Do you feel that the team still has a lot of room for improvement?
Yes yes. We talk all the time about playing eighty minutes. Today, either we give the first half, and we come back in the second half. Either it’s the opposite, like against Clermont (20-15, final score). If we can change that, we will be better.
What about your margin? After some high-profile matches with Argentina (Rugby Championship and autumn tour), you seem to be having trouble finding your feelings at a club…
Yes. I came back against Montpellier (end of October), it was a complicated match with the rain. Afterwards, the Vannes reception, we lost, I played ten minutes, I wasn’t great in winning, in scrums…There, against Clermont, it was good. I still have a new opportunity (in Perpignan), but that’s competition. We are four pillars (on the right, with Uini Atonio, Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel and Aleksandre Kuntelia), we all play for our national team, we have to work. And if you’re not 100%, someone else will succeed […] but we talk, we help each other, we push each other. Uini helps us a lot. It helps me progress.
And it’s frustrating not to surf on your level displayed in selection?
I try not to get frustrated because otherwise… I try to continue working and raise my level. Against Vannes, I was not at the same level as against the Blacks or against the “Sudafs”. It’s also up to me to keep pushing.
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You appeared upset during your substitution against Vannes, shortly after coming on, right?
Yes, because I wanted to play! You play ten minutes and you go out, it’s complicated… I was angry with myself, because if I don’t make mistakes, I don’t go out.
You said you felt better against Clermont?
Yes, we work a lot with Gürthro (Steenkamp, La Rochelle forwards and scrum coach), we do a lot of extras and that helps me a lot. I also speak with Andrés Bordoy (member of the Pumas staff). All three of us are trying to work, and I feel much better. I feel 100%, physically. Then again, maybe it’s mental. When I make a mistake in scrum, I can’t turn the page.
Tell us about your match against the French XV in November, where you were in the minority against your club teammates…
When I saw Paul (Boudehent), we did a “check” and there, already, my Argentinian teammates told me: “Oh, we don’t have any friends here!” (laughs). Afterwards, at each scrum, Uini (Atonio) would say “Oh, stop playing fast”, we also spoke with Reda (Wardi), it was huge… It was the first time, we laughed a lot, it was a great match. It was good to play against them.
Have you become a full-fledged right-hander again?
It’s better. Because on the left, there are four of them, they are all good (smile). There, I will try to stay to the right. I prefer on the right. But if the team needs me to play on the left, I’m ready.
Are you still the “Léo Messi of La Rochelle”, as Uini Atonio sometimes likes to call you?
No, I… I stopped (laughs). There, I try to progress in scrum. Afterwards, we’ll see if I score any tries. Uini always makes jokes
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