The VARL without complexes against the Aveyronnais

The Varl loves the Lord Derby Cup, there is no doubt about it. She even managed some nice shots like in February 2023, where he took out Toulouse elite club 1 (44 to 28), or last season, where he made Albi tremble. This season again, it is an elite 1 club that is offered to him. Not a stranger since it is Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Elite 2 champion against Villegailhenc, and promoted who arrives at Jérome Rieux. “This is not a gala match, specifies coach Pierre Louis Bourrel, Villegailhenc is very attached to this competition and has shown in the past that he can beat the odds. It would be presumptuous to have this objective as Villefranche is making an exceptional start. But we want to put in a performance that we can rely on for the rest of the season.” Despite the holidays, the preparation was done seriously: “There was no rest, only a light weight training program, but we worked not to lose, particularly physically.” Of course, we had to juggle with the holidays: “We adapted the program by supervising holidays and the last two sessions allowed us to work tactically.”

A difficult match

The Aveyronnais remain a big chunk to swallow, Pierre Louis Bourrel never doubted it: “It is a well-structured club which is ready to register for the duration in Elite1. His staff has always made intelligent recruitments with foreign players who have always performed extremely well. I won’t be surprised to see Rouergats qualify for the championship.” For Villegailhenc, it will be anything but an easy match: “Surprising them will be complicated and we know that we will be closely analyzed on video. We have thought about a strategy that we would like to put in place, but for that, we will have to be very serious about the fundamentals and in particular about keeping the ball and defensively.” Pierre Louis Bourrel certainly does not want to reveal his game plan: “It is intended for gamers. But by showing a lot of enthusiasm and coming together we have the qualities to perform well and have fun.” And why not create a surprise with these 1/8ths!