Facing the press, the Var center said he was relieved after Toulon’s success against Montpellier (30-17). He also paid tribute to Pierre Mignoni, who served his first match of suspension, and to the finishers led by the excellent Baptiste Serin.
What do you remember from this meeting?
We won, that’s the main thing. We really wanted to win this match at home, in front of our crowd. We finally managed to have fun in this match. I think the supporters felt that we had fun. But, it wasn’t perfect. There is still work.
Once again, Toulon made the difference at the end of the game…
You know, it’s the Top 14. The matches are all tough. All matches are close. Everyone wants to chase points. Montpellier was moving to do something. I regret that we missed so many opportunities in the first half. At the break, we felt that he wanted to get us into a false rhythm. We wanted to keep a high pace. It was going to open if we did that. Despite this first period, we didn’t give up. There are no other home solutions. We cannot lower our heads or give up on the match. There was no choice but to fight until the end.
How do you explain the difficulties encountered in this first hour of play?
We had some inaccuracies, especially in the rucks. We didn’t have clean rucks. Then, we have hand faults. We had some good moments, but we need to have a little more continuity in these passages.
Despite these inaccuracies, we finally saw a style of play…
We haven’t had too much luck since the start of the year (laughs)… We’ve played with bad weather conditions! We were able to put our game together. We wanted to do and show what we had been working on for weeks. We put in place the things we work on every day. It gives a lot of motivation for the future. If we continue like this, we will progress and win matches.
From the stand, we have the feeling that Serin’s entry changed the course of this game. You were on the ground, what do you say?
He is a player who plays with a lot of confidence. He takes initiatives. He feels the game very well. He has an energy and he brings it to everyone. He already did that against Vannes. He brings a lot. The guys are used to his game, and they react with it. They know things are going to happen with him.
It was also the first without the presence of Pierre Mignoni. Does this suspension require players to take more responsibility?
The leaders are still there. They are doing their role. Pierre was with us before being at the stadium. It’s definitely weird not having him during the match. It requires everyone to take responsibility. The players must do more for Pierre. Pierre gives everything for us. He is someone who gives everything every day. Out of respect for Pierre, for the club and the supporters, we must have respect. We must win.
