The Parisians, who have suffered a lot against the Maritimes (23-10), are aware that they will have to improve ball in hand in the future.
Interview at Paris La Défense Arena
Laurent Travers (coach of Racing 92 victorious at Stade Rochelais 23-10): “We knew that it would be the kind of very tough match, against a big team from La Rochelle who were keen to take revenge after what had happened. spent last week (home defeat against Toulouse, Editor’s note). We knew we were going to run into a revengeful team. It was important to be focused on us. We knew it was going to be tough physically, we responded physically, mentally and defensively. We did not crack, they broke the advantage line several times but we managed to plug and not take points. It’s the kind of game where when a team is mentally strong, they can win that kind of game. Even if offensively, we were approximate. At times, we have been on the retreat at times but we have stood up. Winning in pain is also a satisfaction. It is thanks to your defense that you are also building your season, you are building a state of mind. “
Read alsoRacing 92-La Rochelle: the favorites and strokes of our special correspondent
“We know that we will have to be better on the offensive side. Last week, we performed well on the offensive side. This week, we performed well defensively, hoping that next week (in Biarritz), we will be efficient in both areas. Against La Rochelle, we had balls, but we returned them too easily. When you are exposed in your camp, you have a harder time getting out. We were put in difficulty in the first half. Regarding the scrum, I was not worried. We take 5 penalties, we win 3 or 4. We get better and better. In this sector, the truth of today is not that of tomorrow. Our conquest was good, the line-up was good, the balls carried were much better. At 10-10 (in the 58th minute), at no point did I feel the team panicking. I even think that we ended up with more freshness, more conservation. ”
It stung in the rucks, but I don’t think there was any animosity. It was a big fight, so every now and then it hangs on
Baptiste Chouzenoux
Juan Imhoff (Racing 92 winger): “In this kind of match against big teams, we had the” momentum “(strong moment), they took control and after that it was very hard. We did not have a lot of balls in attack but these kinds of matches are won like that, with a very big defense. It is the one who holds the most who wins the match. We must not hide it, we scored a try that was perhaps a little lucky but it’s part of the game, we went to look for it with a big defense. This is the key point. (…) We were not afraid when they came back to 10 everywhere. But we knew that La Rochelle is a tough team to stop when they are confident. We said to ourselves: “How can we break this dynamic?” We clenched our teeth. We didn’t hit a lot of balls in attack, I’m not very happy … (To smile) With the rule changes, our defensive system has evolved. We do not go up as strong as before in defense, we leave players on the third curtain. The opposing teams want to come and play at the Arena. We no longer want to give pleasure to other teams when they come to play with us. “
Baptiste Chouzenoux (third row of Racing 92): “We didn’t have the ball in the first half, that’s for sure, but you have to know how to put your back and defend, that’s what we managed to do . We tried to compete for conquest, in scrum, in touchdown. We had to contain their big pack and have a big defense, we did it well. Sometimes you also have to know how to win without the ball. It was a big game, a big showdown. We tried to disturb them as much as possible in conquest. It worked more or less well. We are proud of the work we have done. We did not give up. (…) It stung in the rucks, but I don’t think there was any animosity. It was a big fight, so every now and then it hangs on. It was a real rugby match, we sent each other. “
.
