The blood and gold flags have flourished, saluting a Catalonia back in the hexagonal elite. They were not very numerous, gauge obliges, in the big stadium of Montpellier, but the supporters of Perpignan howled their joy and their pride. Their club is back in Top 14. Winners of Biarritz (33-14) this Saturday afternoon, the players of Christian Lanta were crowned Pro D 2 champions, concluding in the best way a season carried out vigorously and ended at first place in the ranking. “This title is well deserved, blows the three-quarter center Mathieu Acebes. We know what happened three years ago. We won’t make the same mistake. We’re going to work and we’re not going to ignite. “The player points to his team’s last foray into the Top 14, in 2018-2019, which ended in a fiasco – only two wins – and a descent in stride.
“We got what we wanted, everyone is very happy, smiles Damien Chouly, the former international third row. It is such a pleasure to go back up. We’re going to celebrate it as it should. Now the hard part begins. A clever mix of experienced players (Damien Chouly, Jeronimo De la Fuente, Ben Volavola) and promising young people (Melvyn Jaminet, the back author of 23 points against Biarritz, or Alban Roussel), the USAP, which collects seven Shields of Brennus, flew over the season finishing better attack and better defense. The club has been solidly structured since 2019. Will he however have the means to remain in an increasingly homogeneous elite?
“It will be complicated next season, but we’ll see”
“Going down is going very quickly, going back up, it takes a long time, underlines general manager Christian Lanta. When you are in Pro D2, you lose a lot of money. We already know that the team that will go up will have to play maintenance. If you are not a conjurer, recruiting in June is very complicated. The Perpignan leader blames in particular the formula of the championship and the attribution of a ticket for the higher echelon at the end of the final phase only and not of the regular season, which would make it possible to anticipate more. “To finish like this after an endless season, I am proud of the players, continues the Catalan coach Patrick Arlettaz. They made promises to each other, they kept them. It will be complicated next season, but we’ll see. ”
The Biarrots, they will still have a chance to join the Top 14. They will face in the barrage of accession Pau or Bayonne, the ancestral rival, next Saturday, on their ground in Aguilera.
