Relieved after the success of his team against Stade français Paris (21-13), the third row of Aviron Bayonnais, Baptiste Chouzenoux, notably returned, at the final whistle, to his first captaincy with the Ciel et Blanc.
Baptiste, the good series continues at home. Can we say that Aviron Bayonnais will play at the top of the table?
I don't know if this confirms that we are going to play at the top, but the objective was to continue to win at Jean Dauger. It's done. We are happy, but there is still a long way to go. We have not yet reached mid-season, we will be able to position ourselves at that time. We must not forget that we received more matches than we traveled. Maybe that's why we're pretty high up in the rankings.
The meeting was complicated. What can you tell us about this?
Yes, the match was broken. I imagine it wasn't a very pretty sight, but we responded in the intensity, in the fight. You know, that's the main thing, against this team that we know is strong on man and in conquest. We managed to counter their density and I think that's what made us win tonight.
What can you tell us about fighting in the ruck zone?
We knew that Stade Français attacked the ruck zone a lot. It was a bit of a war, there were people everywhere, but we adapted. We tried to make the rucks as clean as possible. The balls were slowed down, the game was choppy. This is what was planned, but we managed to escape the trap…
What was Grégory Patat's speech at half-time?
We were told to continue to maintain possession. We had to try to hold the ball a little more, get out of our camp better. I think we gave them points easily in the first half. In the second half, we also had to continue to be present in the fight.
Your partner, Giovanni Habel-Kuffner, has made a decisive move. Do you remember this moment?
Yes, Giovanni does a great job. He puts on huge matches for us, he does us a lot of good. Coming back five meters and saving a try is class action. He didn't give up, bravo to him.
For your part, you didn't want to score…
I should be able to see this action again. It could have been the test of my career, but I panicked (laughs). I saw someone and made a long pass.
Are you a happy captain tonight?
Yes, it's the first time I was captain of the team. It's better to win than to lose. It was a great experience. Casually, it was close to my heart. Here, the group has only known me for a few months, but I have done all the youth categories and being captain was an important thing.
We know you have a discreet nature. Did you have to force your nature?
I didn't force my nature, I remained discreet, as usual. Normally, on the keys, I place the words I want. I had a bit of the same role this evening, but in a slightly more general way. I thank the guys who ensured and did the work to put me in simple conditions.
Have you talked to your players more?
Yes, I definitely talked a little more, but I didn't spread myself out either. I said simple, precise and concrete things.
