Bordeaux-Béglaise scrum coach Jean-Baptiste Poux talks about Sunday evening’s match against La Rochelle. If he notices that his team have progressed in these duels between Western clubs, the former pillar is more wary of the La Rochelle game than anything.
UBB was leading the championship before this weekend and remains on four victories in a row. What to expect from this duel in La Rochelle?
We know where we are going to set foot. Against La Rochelle, they are always physical matches. We are on a good run, I hope we will be able to maintain our level of requirements to string together good performances. It’s like a derby. When we meet La Rochelle, we always have pressure because, in the past, they have spanked us a few times.
These “spankings”, as you say, are still not digested?
It had an impact on us, that’s for sure. If we go there with 10% less mental preparation, it won’t work. La Rochelle has a very frontal game so if we don’t go there to hurt ourselves and put our shoulders to it, it could be expensive in the end.
Jack Nowell and Teddy Thomas are back. Uini Atonio regains his starting place. On the UBB side, we opt for a 7-1 bench, which is quite rare in the Top 14.https://t.co/3AYL9RqMrt
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR)
Do you have the impression of having progressed over the course of these clashes with the Rochelais, which were often very difficult for you?
We have a squad that improves from year to year. Mentally, we have passed a milestone. Now the most difficult thing is to be consistent and not collapse like we did during the Bayonne reception. It’s been a long week to prepare well and on Sunday evening we will see if we are ready.
Are you inspired by the success at Deflandre two years ago?
We went there with a very specific strategy, which all the players applied well. Above all, I think that we surprised them, that they did not expect us at that level. Sunday evening, it will be different because we are first in the championship (Editor’s note since, Toulouse won in Pau, becoming provisional leader), that we had good performances against them last year. The element of surprise will no longer be there.
La Rochelle is coming out of a very complicated match in Bayonne. Should you take an example from what Rowing did?
Of course we watched this match. It happens to miss… I saw in the press that there was a bit of a cough so that reinforces the idea that it could be violent this Sunday. We must prepare well, above all be precise in our game and make as few mistakes as possible while being strong in conquest.
So you expect a big fight up front, hence your bench with seven forwards?
I think they are the best team in the championship in this style of play. It’s frontal, it’s violent, they are virulent on the contact zones. It’s up to us to stand up. We have to bring down these big mammoths and be clean in our rugby. Physically, it will be a big test.
You are traveling with a slightly reshuffled squad as you did during your success in Toulouse. Do you feel greater squad depth compared to last season?
We have more confidence in our group, we know the players better. We try to learn from the previous season, where players played a lot of matches. We know that at the end of the season, freshness can make the difference. It is also a question of emulation. Those who did not play the previous weekend must show that they have a place in the team. This is what will pull us up.
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