The last defeat (29-33) against Colomiers was difficult to take for Sapiac. Simon Renda, USM center, talks about this special week and looks ahead to the Nice reception. A match that the Montalbanais approach “without putting pressure on themselves”.
This defeat against Colomiers seems to have left its mark, how did the return to Sapiac go?
Before starting again we cut back a little with three days of rest, which allowed us to recover and be in good shape on Monday. We started with a video review of this match against Colomiers… There were more negatives than positives, it must be admitted. The atmosphere is still good because we keep smiling but it's true that it was strange to start the week with a defeat. It’s been five games since that happened. But the fact remains that we managed to pivot to prepare well for this weekend's match.
After this defeat, Sébastien Tillous-Borde spoke of a “little slap”, as a player, how did you feel?
Personally, I didn't feel it as a slight slap since we felt it coming throughout the match. On the pitch I felt that we weren't really present and that we didn't have the game in hand. Even when we went ahead with a twelve point lead, I didn't feel calm. I knew the match could turn quickly and in the end, that's what happened. This is not a small slap in the face, I believe that we cannot win every match, we have to remain lucid and continue to work. We will say that it was a little questioning.
What's probably most frustrating is that you haven't managed to put your game together like you usually can…
Yes, I was the first, I did two forwards. We failed to hold the ball. They defended very well. We made too many mistakes to succeed in stringing together playing time. I think we couldn't have had a worse game in terms of defense. It's frustrating because we didn't completely miss our match, we lost it due to stupid mistakes.
Finally, you have not yet managed to resolve this lack of consistency over 80 minutes with a lot of air holes which could cost much more later…
It's true that there are always these air holes, except perhaps against Grenoble where there wasn't too much slack. In any case, last weekend we didn't manage to be an actor. I couldn't explain why.
At the dawn of welcoming Nice, what needs to be corrected?
We really want to have a good match without looking down on Nice. I believe that their place in the ranking is not representative of their start to the season. For our part, we must redeem ourselves. Honestly, I'm still a little frustrated that I let victory slip away in Colomiers. Against Stade Nice, we will have to be more disciplined and better at winning. We are also keen to hold the ball and play to make us forget the last match.
On this block, we have often talked about a trap match, Nice has all the makings of a dangerous match…
We know that they perform quite well outside. On the other hand, I don't think it's a trap match. We don't put pressure on ourselves. We take it match by match, we will be keen to play. We are not going to play with the fear of doing wrong, on the contrary, we must not put pressure on ourselves.
Personally, you arrived on loan last season, so this season will be your first full season with Montauban. Do you feel like you have evolved since your debut under the colors of USM?
I felt it from the start. I was really happy with the new staff and the arrival of new players. Everything “matched” quickly in the end. I completely share the new staff’s vision of rugby. I feel really good within this group and I always want to give my best to keep the club as high as possible.
