Ct is a fact, Castres Olympique, still undefeated at Pierre-Fabre this season, is less concerned by the Autumn Nations Series – the official name of the November Tests – than Stade Rochelais, which it hosts on Saturday at 4 p.m. 30. Indeed, none of his players stayed with the Blues this week, unlike the Yellow and Black Uini Atonio, Reda Wardi, Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel, Paul Boudehent and Grégory Alldritt. But in any case, and this is an observation, no matter what compositions he lines up, the CO has this quality of never giving up, of always being consistent.
This is not the case for the Maritimes who, despite strong groups, collapsed in Saint-Sébastien, against Bayonne (37-7), before finding themselves without a solution under the downpours of Montpellier (16-0). Poor performances whose bitter taste was softened by the good attitude of a rejuvenated team against Paris (35-18), just before the international break. Enough to say that it is not because the CVs lined up will be less prestigious, in these times of duplication, that La Rochelle will certainly be weakened in the Tarn.
“Give everything”
“We didn’t talk about it,” says Sébastien Boboul about his team’s last two trips. We stayed at the Stade Français. But we know very well that, even if we had a good performance in Montpellier and Bayonne, it is still difficult to travel to Castres. We want to keep a little of the enthusiasm of the last few weeks and continue to produce, to progress in our game. And we have prepared ourselves not to reproduce these two performances because if you are not prepared for the fight, to put in the intensity, you get rolled over there. »
“Pierre-Fabre is a great audience, supporters who are always behind their team”
“We have a big group. Players have not made the last two trips, adds Matthias Haddad-Victor who is precisely one of them. We use it, we feed off our past experiences to be able to draw as much positive as possible to build and achieve results outside of our bases. It's up to us to give everything to do it there. » At 23, he has played twice on the CO pitch and therefore knows what to expect: “Pierre-Fabre, it's a big crowd, supporters who are always behind their team which is very, very valiant and likes to look good in front of his family. »
The Castres attack is in good shape
“It’s still a hostile environment,” adds Dillyn Leyds, who will remain captain after his successful interim against Paris. When you play on the wing or behind, there are supporters screaming (smile). It's a good challenge for us against an in-form team. It's going to be tough, it's a team that hits hard, that likes it when it's war on the pitch and that runs very fast. There are a lot of good players, behind and also up front. »
Because, historically renowned for their conquest, their science of combat, the Tarnais also rely on the 2nd best attack in the championship (271 points scored, compared to 229 for La Rochelle), with 31 tries on the clock, one more than the Maritimes. “It's up to us to perform well defensively, to do what is necessary in an away match, particularly on our kicking games, which were perhaps less good, and to continue to produce what we are trying to do. to do since the start of the season, Boboul list. We told our players that we had to be ready…”
