The season was already successful. After this qualification for the finals of the Top 14 snatched after six victories in the last six days, the Stade Français has undoubtedly given up a little, mentally and physically, its barrage for the semi-finals against Racing (38-21), this Friday evening at Paris-La Défense Arena. Enough to give some regrets to the Parisian manager Gonzalo Quesada, who knows the path that remains for his team to rise to the highest level.
How do you explain this big defeat?
GONZALO QUESADA. We knew our chances weren’t great. But the course of the match leaves us a lot of regrets. This first quarter of an hour is expensive, there was room to do much better. On the first action we take the hand on the ball, we kick a little over it, and we are countered, we take a test too fast. Then we lack control, we make a lot of small mistakes. There were also some on the other side, but we were hissed a lot. We are out of the game.
What did you think when your former player Gaël Fickou scores the first try?
It’s part of the game. The circumstances were very special, for him at first. Of course it’s a special match, but I knew Gaël would be having a big day, I warned the players. He’s a real competitor. And on his first touched ball he scored… Fortunately afterwards, it was rather Waisea who broke the screen in the second half.
What did you say at half-time when the score was 28-0?
I gave a rant, I said everything I had in my heart. I told the players what could still happen in the second half, the image we were giving. Then Thomas (Lombard, the general manager, editor’s note) came home too and said the same things as well. We talked about the desire to take the game back in hand, to have a second half worthy of the team and the season.
What did you think of Racing’s performance?
Racing was not that serene. He reassured himself with our faults. They were very strong in those first 20 minutes, they were climbing very strong in defense, preventing us from gaining the advantage line. It takes a lot of control but also being very smart, they were in the rucks area. We tried not to get frustrated. I will not talk about arbitration. Racing deserved the victory.
What did you miss to be at this level?
We can see the gap with Racing. The lack of control at the start of the match shows us where we are. We spent the season saying that we were under construction, we know that there is still a lot of work. Thank you to Racing for showing us the way we still have to go. Racing does not know a year without the finals. They had ten years to build, to experience this kind of situation, to control them. These experiences are worth gold. It marked the start of the match.
How do you see next season?
This season, we are where the team deserved to arrive. First of all, we need a lot of rest, of regeneration. Next season it will be completely different. We imagine Montpellier, Castres, Lyon, Toulon, Pau (the teams not qualified in the final stages, editor’s note), their state of mind. There will always be the others in front too. Thanks to Racing, we will not be wrong in the preparation. We know what we have to do.
