After a disappointing start, the Béarnais offered twenty minutes of pure happiness to their supporters, a providential offensive bonus resulting. Enough to dispel some doubts.
A bonus that we didn't dare hope for, a successful return of spearhead Beka Gorgadze, the Mr. Plus of the Section. And nine points ahead of the red lantern.
This is the telegram that could have summarized the meeting for a distant correspondent. We complete it with Sébastien Piqueronies' poetic introduction to his post-match speech. “What made me fall into happiness? But ultimately it's quite simple. You know, a beautiful winter day, magnificent sunshine. I don't know if you arrived early this morning, if you saw the Pyrenees and their beauty this morning. A full stadium, happy people, certainly, and this communion that I felt, the pride of the supporters. The songs, the happy players. match. That’s an immense joy.”
It was no longer a press conference, it was an ode to joy. And it moved us given the pressure that had eaten away at the group during the week. The Pau supporters expected to suffer, but in the end they only suffered for roughly fifteen minutes. Sébastien Piqueronies' players spent, it's true, the start of the match confined to their 22 meters. They had paid dearly for two direct kicks from Luc and Maddocks which gave Vannes the keys to possession and occupation. We then felt a small screed of lead fall on the stands of the Hameau when the elder of the house Thibaut Debaës crossed the line. “We had everything to go wrong.”
And then, the pressure was completely reversed: “We had difficulty getting out, then the plan started, my decision-making players 9-10-15 used the kicking game well. We put the opponent under pressure, we had good balls to exploit then we scored with, in my opinion, 30 very successful minutes”, detailed a manager visibly transfigured by the feeling of duty accomplished. “It was an effective Section”which is rare, an informed observer told us. Yes, the Section didn't waste many opportunities.
Three terrible tries in 22 minutes
The Béarnais scored three tries in twenty-two minutes, superb actions with precise passes which clearly stunned the Bretons who had nevertheless stored up a little confidence. But the difference was striking between the Vannes sequences, which were a little slow, and the Pau offensives, which were livelier and sharper. Because the pack criticized in Toulon had offered a stable platform (thanks Beka!).
The first try was lit by two different, but impeccable passes from Nathan Decron and Joe Simmonds. The second owed a lot to an initiative from Aymeric Luc who came from his wing to reinforce the opposite side, going against all the pre-established plans. But what another pass from Jack Maddocks… The third was concluded first hand from 70 meters behind the scrum, almost from the blackboard (read on page 9).
These three tries changed the match. It was 27-10 at halftime. The resulting bonus gave a breath of fresh Pyrenees air to a group that had been prone to coughing for several weeks.
A lucid coach
We inevitably asked the question of maintaining Sébastien Piqueronies who played the realism card. “We are lucid and we know the state of our strengths and the competition in the Top 14. And we know that by starting badly, you have little chance of getting there. Please, don't break the flame that there is in us. Because this flame has terrible power. But the players are lucid, they know very well that we already have two defeats at home and only 24 points in the bag. to avoid this 14th place. And the second priority will be to avoid the 13th and then the third priority will be to climb higher. So when we are at the third priority, we will discuss it.
