“I force-fed them a little with the maintenance”: the reaction of Joan Caudullo and the actors of ASM Clermont – MHR

You repeated that this match against Clermont was a test. What do you think at the final whistle?

We're happy because at the end of the first half, I thought it was tough. We could have taken more points. I have the feeling that, when we are in their camp, we are still a little sterile.

In the second half, we were totally on board with the strategy and it paid off. They put up a real fight against a team which, at this level, is still very, very strong. Frankly, the players, what they did today is exceptional.

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“My problem was my head”, “I cried at the end”: the words of Stuart Hogg after MHR’s victory against ASM Clermont

We have the feeling that it was you who dictated the rhythm…

That's it, yes. We knew that if we won this showdown, we wouldn't be far behind in the score. We had to be cold the whole match, which we did. We took a returned penalty at the end of the first half. Then, we mastered it, which allowed us to make as few mistakes as possible. Today, we are doing fewer than usual (9 in total). And that is a very positive point today.

Can we say that you have gained psychological influence over this Clermont team?

This is what we want to put in place, even if the scrum was a little difficult. We knew that the Clermont team lacked stability in this sector and we had difficulty dominating. But our defense was heroic. We were afraid of line errors.

There are really very positive points. Afterwards, you have to look at it cold. But to win here, I think it's a very good performance.

What did you think of Stuart Hogg's game, capable of being penalized unnecessarily, such as passing 50 meter penalties?

Stuart is a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We know he is an exceptional player. He brings us a lot on and off the field. Then there is him, there are the others too. The guys who came back really brought something to everyone.

Lucas Tabarot, who is 20 years old today, is having a great comeback. There are really very positive points. Afterwards, now we have to beat Bayonne to validate this away score.

This could allow us to get closer to this sixth place which, today, is starting to be a goal in our heads.

“They’ve been struggling for a year, a year and a half”

What assessment do you draw at mid-season?

It's always difficult to say because we have one more away match. We will take stock at the end of January when we travel to Toulouse, to find out where we are and what we are playing.

I have spoken a lot about maintenance since the start of the season to the players. I force-fed them a bit with it, but I kept doing it to piss them off. Today, and for several weeks, since the La Rochelle match (16-0), the state of mind has changed. They told me that they did not want to play the game this season. I'm very happy to play something other than maintenance.

From the outside, the atmosphere looks good in the locker room…

We feel it yes. But you have to pay attention to the good atmosphere. It must be transformed on the ground.

We had two days to prepare, like the other teams. The players immediately bought into the project that we wanted to implement in Clermont. We immediately gave the lineup, some players were notified just after the victory against Racing so that they could prepare. It’s a bet that paid off.

I am very happy for the players. They've been struggling for a year, a year and a half. It was complicated. When you were two minutes away from being in Pro D2… Today, they reward themselves. I'm happy to share this with them. With a mindset, you can do great things. If we want to validate all that, we have to beat Bayonne.