Bergerac (3e/38 pts) – Decazeville (2e/41 pts)
Lieu Bergerac (stade Gaston-Simounet). Hourly Sunday January 12 at 3:30 p.m. Arbitrator Mr. Rameau (Nouvelle-Aquitaine). First leg Decazeville 22 – Bergerac 10.
BERGERAC The group: Racca, Labadie, André, Fonteille, Feltman, Pizzio, Marty (unsure), Paviot, Chauveau, Casagrande, Gros, Rouget, I. Gacem, Lajonie, Dheure, J. Gacem, Chapon, Thizon, Leonardi, Auzard, Volte, Labat , Romieu, Gipoulou, Fauverte. Absent: Lidon, Talia Uli (injured).
The Union Sportive Bergeracoise benefited from an additional week of rest, the match it was to play in Malemort not being able to take place on December 22, due to a municipal decree on the Corrèze field. It will be played on Sunday March 16. The Bergerac players, although they only returned to the stadium on Tuesday January 7, were not yet completely rested. The coaches had established an individual program for each of two weeks.
For their resumption match, Sunday January 12, the men of Renaud Delmas and Rémi Escudier will host Decazeville, second in the standings behind Cahors. They clearly lost (22-10) in the first leg in Aveyron. Dominated, playing at 13 for ten minutes in the second half, they managed to reduce the gap in the last minute of the match with a try from Maxime Labadie, transformed by Corentin Fauverte.
-Vengeful
A defeat that left a bitter taste. “We will be in the thick of things on Sunday. We were surprised at Decazeville, remembers coach Renaud Delmas. We were mistreated. As soon as they raised the level, they put us in difficulty. We failed to respond. You have to get back into the swing of things very quickly. »
The challenge will be relatively simple for the black and white: we will have to beat Decazeville to hope to regain second place, stolen from the Bergeracois by the Aveyronnais, winners at home at the end of December in Causse Vézère (25-6). The offensive bonus point won that day allows them to be three points ahead of their next opponent in the standings. The team generally succeeds well away from its bases, taking, in the absence of a victory, points away from home, points out the coach when examining the statistics. “This restart match will be important,” insists Delmas, “there will be no warm-up round. Decazeville is a direct competitor for qualification to the final stages. We must redeem ourselves. »
To compose their group, the Bergerac coaches will be able to count on a few players recovered from minor injuries in December. Which will not be the case for Julien Lidon and Jonathan Talia Uli, not yet recovered, who will still be missing from the Bergerac pack. On the other hand, Franco Pizzio should make his return to the front line.
