Being one of the 23 chosen when the team composition is announced the day before the match at 6 p.m. does not always guarantee being on the field or the bench at kick-off.
In three of RC Vannes’ last four matches in the Top 14, the Breton club made a change on the scoresheet just over an hour before the match kicked off.
The first, during the reception of Lyon, was forced by the injury to the left knee of Théo Costossèque when he was to have started.
The next two were by tactical choice. In Toulon, Tani Vili replaced Mattéo Desjeux, changing the bench from 6-2 to 5-3 (5 forwards, 3 backs). In Montpellier, reverse coaching (from 5-3 to 6-2), Fabrice Metz, second row, had replaced Jean Cotarmanac’h, opener. This last choice was guided by the weather. In the rain, the Vannes staff preferred to strengthen their pack.
“We are obliged to communicate a group of 23 to the League (the day before the match), explained Jean-Noël Spitzer on Wednesday at a press conference. But we have an expanded bench and we refine at the last moment. That’s why you have the impression that there is change but there isn’t. »
A match sheet at D-1 then at H-1
Because the regulations of the National Rugby League (NRL) require clubs to communicate their team composition (15 starters + 8 substitutes), the day before the match, no later than 5 p.m.
But, the final match sheet is provided approximately one hour before the start of the match. Between these two deadlines, the club can change its bench of substitutes without proof. On the other hand, if it is a change of owner, it must be justified “by a medical reason occurring since the communication of the team composition or by a regulatory reason (the proof must reach the LNR no later than late within 72 hours following the end of the match concerned)”, it is indicated in the statutes and general regulations of the LNR.
Clearly, the staff can change their bench of substitutes as they see fit, but they can only remove a starter in the event of injury.
