The three-quarter center XV of France hopes that Montpellier will surf on its dynamics at the end of last season (assured maintenance and victory in the Challenge Cup) to start again on a better basis.
Le Figaro. Is Montpellier approaching this new season based on the dynamics of the last months of the previous one?
Arthur Vincent: I hope ! The atmosphere and state of mind on which we left at the end of the season are still present. The group is excited. And motivated not to make the same start to the season as last year. We all can’t wait to let go of the horses. Afterwards, the truth is on the ground.
Will the final rise in the standings and victory in the Challenge Cup continue to fuel your confidence?
This is the face we want to show this weekend (trip to Toulon on Saturday evening, Editor’s note). We work for anyway. We must not forget what happened last season, do not throw everything away. On the contrary, you have to use everything, good times and bad times. We must remember our first catastrophic months to galvanize ourselves. And remember the end of the season so that it continues to carry us.
Philippe Saint-André, who was only to perform an interim, is still there. It’s good news ?
It is important yes, for the club and the collective, to be able to benefit from this continuity. It’s good.
« Defense is the ultra-positive point of our end of the season. Everything that we put together as ingredients ended up in this sector. »
Arthur vincent
If you had to sum up what PSA brought last season to redress a compromised situation?
Tighten up and start over with simple things. We lacked confidence so we restricted our play. We could no longer send play that was not related to our state of confidence. Philippe focused on the state of mind and the collective, the minimum. And I’ll take the defense first. This is the ultra-positive point of the end of the season. Everything that we put together as ingredients ended up in this sector.
This season, it is a question of going further …
You have to gradually add layers, yes. Continue to build. By being freed.
With what objective?
It is necessarily to be in the top 6. Since 2011, the club had always qualified. It was therefore a first to miss the qualification. We absolutely want to taste the final phase again. This is the goal that every player has in mind.
And a Champions Cup?
We will play it thoroughly. The opposition in the group stage is more than raised (Harlequins and Munster, Editor’s note), but it’s an excitement, an additional motivation. We want to measure ourselves against this kind of teams in order to continue to grow, both individually and collectively. These are just good opportunities. It must be approached thus, with an enormous appetite. We have nothing to lose.
« The France team keeps me going. Staying there requires constant questioning and a lot of humility. »
Arthur vincent
Personally, there is also the objective of the XV of France. ? Do you feel like you have taken another step forward this summer in Australia by chaining three starts and remarkable performances?
I don’t know… Like the team, it was a rich tour. We had a lot of fun. And we just miss an exceptional thing (win a tour in the southern hemisphere, Editor’s note), although there are already a lot of positives. It’s been 30 years since the France team had won in Australia. There was a lot of happiness during this tour. I will continue to work to relive this.
By aiming for a starting position?
To be in the group. Everything is called into question in every game. It’s up to me to work well in the club and then we’ll see.
But you seem well installed in this group. Either you are the holder, or you come into play … (Embarrassed) I don’t take it that way. No one is installed. We have to look for the opportunities that present themselves. But it is clear that the France team makes me move forward. Staying there requires constant questioning and a lot of humility. It is in this state of mind that I approach it anyway.
Thinking more and more about the 2023 World Cup?
The closer it gets, the more we are told about it, and the more we will think about it (to smile). It’s such a huge event: a World Cup and, in addition, in France! What a dream. So much so that I don’t even dare to think about it. But it is fast approaching. The group must continue to grow in view of this deadline.
.
