The Montalbanais won (34-30) in pain against Stade Nice. An average performance but a success which allows the USM to remain at the top of the ranking. For his first match at Sapiac, Jérémie Maurouard was rather satisfied with these four points despite the inaccuracies.
Another victory but a match where you scared yourself… How do you explain this lack of control in the first half?
I entered at the end of the first half (replacement of Kévin Firmin, injured in the ankle Editor's note). From the start of the match, we were not in the rucks. We get caught in this sector of the game. Nice has a good scrum, a good touch, a good conquest. Frankly we did not underestimate this team, we knew very well the qualities they had. They came with the typical team, they wanted to win and they left with a significant defensive bonus. I believe that this kind of match can make us even stronger. The matches are definitely not easy. In Pro D2, whether you are first or last, it means nothing. You have to stay focused. It's good, it puts your feet back on the ground. Colomiers was already a warning…
How did you find the strength to achieve this success in the last moments?
We remobilized. We felt a little stress. We also felt the audience was a little waiting. It's normal when you lose. But we must not forget that the public must be our sixteenth man. We need them in tough times. In the end there was focus and solidarity. I think some experienced players got ahead to achieve this victory.
It was only your second match in the colors of Montauban since your return from injury, are there still any automatisms to be found?
Are you talking about the touch? It's true that we had trouble finding ourselves… But we can't always be perfect. We train, we do what is necessary. We also knew that Nice had a very good defense in touch. Unfortunately we were not successful in this sector but we will rectify that this week. We're going to look at what went wrong, the coordination between the jumper and the thrower… I want to say that it's not easy to make a hot comeback. I think we need to take a step back from the situation.
How do you feel within the group?
I'm very happy to have found the group again. I'm not going to lie, I spent four months preparing. I'm starting to get older (smile). So I have to be even harder on myself.
