The Tarn left-hander looks back on this stressful match, which ended up falling into the hands of the CO, who remains undefeated at home this season.
Were you afraid of losing this match, even though you were leading by almost thirty points at halftime?
Yes, when we are almost thirty points ahead at half-time and we finish with barely four points, that is not reassuring. Our indiscipline cost us dearly in the second half. We fell into a false rhythm. We relaxed after the break and it almost cost us a home victory.
Did you experience the wind in the second half?
No. The wind was present, there was a little but it wasn't incredible either. I really think it's our indiscipline that puts us at fault and forces us to play at home. We were backed into our camp. La Rochelle started to play everything, they do that very well even with one less, they are very good; we made a mistake and the dynamic reversed a bit.
Does this mean that it was you who put La Rochelle back in the match?
No, I don't like to say that. This would amount to denigrating their performance. La Rochelle played their part, well done to this team. They were given opportunities to express their qualities and they knew how to use them. The Rochelais played their all and it almost paid off.
Are you frustrated that you didn't master this match better?
No, we cannot afford to be frustrated after a victory against La Rochelle in the Top 14. It is forbidden to be frustrated after a success given the level of the championship. This kind of match could have escaped us, the coin fell on the right side fortunately. I'm just a little disappointed that we showed two faces and lost our footing in the second half.
How do you deal with always having two faces, not having a consistent match?
It's not easy. The match against Stade Français was quite full, it seems to me… But afterwards it's clear that it's one of our areas of progress. Either we succeed in the first half and then collapse – which was the case against La Rochelle – or we lose well at half-time and come back strong in the second… We have to sort that out.
Do you think that the CO delivered its best half since the start of the season?
I don't know. I hope there will be others as good. What I know is that we managed to score and be efficient. That's a very good point.
