Superior in conquest and mastery, the Montalbanais won a first convincing away victory in Nevers (16-13). They thus confirm their good start to the championship, after having experienced “hell” last season, escaping on the verge of the promotion match against Narbonne. A metamorphosis savored by one of the former members of the group, the hooker Kevin Firmin, who does not get excited, however.
This victory in Nevers shows that you are on good momentum at the start of the season. How did you experience it?
It wasn’t easy. Nevers has big individualities; his No. 8, Noah, really challenged us on the percussion. But we wanted to do something here. We didn’t get far at Provence Rugby two weeks ago (30-26 defeat, after leading 26-17 in the 50th minute, Editor’s note). This victory confirms the good work we are doing at the moment. And it does good for the elders.
We never felt panicked, you and your teammates, even when Nevers came back to three points. How do you explain it? Did you feel that you had better control of the match?
It’s true that we had a slow time in the second half, which allowed them to come back to the score. But we managed the occupation game well, our hinge was very good in the kicking game. But everything is not perfect, we missed a lot of tackles in particular, like last week against Biarritz; We will have to improve in this area. In the end, it didn’t amount to much. We took the opportunity, and it worked out for us.
You took the score very quickly, from the 3rd minute. Did you feel that this gave you a psychological advantage over your opponent throughout the match?
We managed to score this try very quickly, which forced Nevers to chase the score. It’s a bit complicated for them at the start of the season, but I’m not worried about them.
You are coming out of a very difficult season, at the end of which you remained in Pro D2 during the accession play-off match. Was it this match which was a shock and which explains your good start to the season?
I participated in this accession match (silence). We had everything to lose, and Narbonne had everything to gain. No doubt the players had a click after that. But there is also a new staff, new players, and that feels good. The year 2024 has been hell, and what we’re going through at the moment, a match like tonight, is important, especially for the veterans.
After this first block, Montauban is in the first half of the ranking. Does this make you want to look higher, or are you, like Guy Roux, playing it safe?
We will keep our feet on the ground. We must validate this result in two weeks, against Aurillac. We will remain humble, and continue to work.
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