“We prove that we deserve our place in Pro D2”

QWho better than his manager to take a look at the first phase of this surprising Dacquoise team? While his team has returned to the top six of an ever more difficult Pro D2 championship, Jeff Dubois measures the work done and plans for this high-risk resumption against CA Brive, this Friday (9 p.m.) at Maurice-Boyau.

“We were apprehensive, for several reasons, about this second season in Pro D2. The first was linked to our opponents who were going to take us a little more seriously. To do this, we had to renew the feat, find new ways to exist. Then, the group had to adapt to the choice of separating us from certain senior players in the offseason. The medium-term projection and the objective of favoring Jiff players (Players from training sectors, Editor’s note) led us to part with thirty-year-old and non-Jiff players like Max Delonca, Mat Luamanu and Ilikéna Bolakoro. »

“Emulation” of recruits

“These players were very important in the group, but sometimes you have to agree to make choices to create momentum and allow other players to take leadership. I am satisfied to see that the group has been able to adapt and increase its level of involvement. The players who discovered Pro D2 last year are more and more competitive, and the recruits have brought us productive emulation,” underlines the man who is in his third season as manager.

With a group shaped since his arrival when the club was in the National, and the contribution of experienced players, Jeff Dubois and his staff can be pleased to put US Dax back on the professional rugby stage. “I believe that after last season, this mid-term play-off place, even if it is not definitive, proves that we deserve our place in Pro D2”, appreciates the former Toulouse opener, champion of Europe 2005.

“This block of three games in January can quickly tip us one way or the other”

Satisfaction is rooted in the results, but also in the place given, or rather given, to the training and emergence of new talents. Since its beginnings, the Dacquois staff has made winning bets on young people or unknown people. Rodrigo Marta, Paul Ausset, Guillaume Bouche, Hugo Fourquet, Bastien Daguerre, Jope Naseara, Ratu Nacika and Sam Wasley are players unearthed thanks to the flair of this rather inspired staff.

The good dynamics and playing philosophy also make it possible to attract new players looking for experience like Dino Casadei, Noah Nene or, recently, Viliame Tutuvuli. “It’s important for us to stimulate new energies. We don’t have the means that some people have, so we adapt. I’m happy to see players progress and flourish among us. We are not going to stop there, because for this second part of the championship, we are trying to highlight the great work of the Espoirs staff, who are undefeated this season, by starting to integrate certain deserving elements,” specifies Jeff Dubois.

“The players are progressing”

Indeed, after a truce for the confectioners in the barrier position (6th), the US Dax will have a lot to do for the recovery. “We have a block of three tricky matches in January with the reception of Brive and two trips to Colomiers and Soyaux-Angoulême. This can quickly tip us one way or the other. This Friday evening, against Brive, we will face the ogre of Pro D2. It’s a dense team that has the best attacking stats. It relies on a big victory and formidable efficiency on carried balls, with 16 tries scored in this way. I want to believe that the strength of character that we demonstrated during the month of December will allow us to meet this major challenge…”