Baptiste Jauneau displayed his wide smile with Clermont's 86th minute victory against Bristol. The Clermont scrum half notably returned to this final action where Thomas Ceyte blew up the Marcel-Michelin stadium.
Baptiste, you were on the bench during the last action which saw Thomas Ceyte score the winning try. What state were you in?
The last action was awful! At that moment, I was only waiting for one thing: a penalty. Just one more try! Because when we impose a lot of playing time on the opponent, we tell ourselves that we could get a penalty. But in the end, I didn't care, as long as we scored!
Did you believe it until the end?
Yes ! I believed it because they too had to win to qualify and therefore play all the balls. So we knew we would have a chance. And the guys on the ground didn't give up. This shows that we are a real team!
What did you say to each other in the locker room?
We didn't talk much, we all blew because we were a little tired (laughs). In front, it's running!
Do you feel immense pride in having achieved this victory in these conditions?
That's it. When we go until the 85th minute, at home, in a Champions Cup match (he breathes).. I'm proud to be part of this team and to play with the guys. It's just incredible.
Do you think that this Dantesque success can recreate a magical bond with your supporters?
-Exactly, this must create strong connections with our audience. We are lucky to have enormous support from our supporters. I have matches in mind where the atmosphere was as incredible as today and I know that we have great potential here! Before I didn't really know the Michelin audience, I watched it on television, but when you see it it's exceptional.
Despite this favorable scenario, you have still complicated your task…
Totally! We played poorly with excess numbers, and I think we could have done better on certain throws after throws. In any case, we will have to do it in the next matches to avoid this kind of situation!
What did you say to yourself after Bristol's fourth try?
It was going to be very complicated given that there were only two minutes left, but as I said before, we never stopped believing in it!
You dared more in attack, but you were penalized by certain inaccuracies. Do you have this feeling?
Yes, it's true that we lacked fluidity at certain times. I don't know what caused it, between communication, concentration or technical errors. Today we still have a little more play than in recent weeks. We must keep this in mind for the future.
Peceli Yato said after the match that it was the toughest match he had to play this season in the Champions Cup. Are you of the same opinion?
Yes and no. Yes because Bristol relaunched everywhere and we never knew what to expect. We had to run constantly while other teams play more like Top 14 clubs, where it is more integrated. But it’s true that in terms of the races, it was very intense. You should never lower your head because danger could come from anywhere, their scrum half almost scored when starting alone from a ruck…
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