“What is your state of mind after this somewhat unusual pre-season (due to the World Cup, September 8-October 28)?
I’m glad it’s over. The preparations, we all dread them a little and we are happy when they end. We are impatient, we want to move on. We can’t wait to start the season, to receive Toulouse at Jean-Dauger, to approach it properly.
“The disaster scenario: you miss these three matches and for two months, your head is at the bottom of the bucket”
It was a special pre-season with three matches to prepare before the World Cup break (the 4th day will take place on October 29). How has this changed your approach?
It’s not easy because we put a lot of pressure on the first matches. We say to ourselves that we must not miss them, because, if that is the case, we will be fooling around for a while because of this long break… The worst-case scenario is: you miss these three matches and for two months, your head is at the bottom of the bucket. We want to avoid that.
Last season, you remained undefeated at Jean-Dauger. You start the season there. Is prolonging this invincibility an objective?
Yes, we would really like to win to stay undefeated here and start our season off right. Afterwards, we know that it will be complicated, that Stade Toulousain will come with intentions. We will try to put the ingredients to win this match.
What are the ingredients that could make the difference?
I do not know. Maybe we resumed earlier and we will arrive with more certainty, to put our game in place, to be able to keep the ball, to put our offensive structure in place, in any case I hope so.
“We also know very well that we are going to be more expected this year. We are no longer Tom Thumb”
Have you worked on specific sectors in relation to this opposition that is Stade Toulousain?
Not really. Since it’s the first match, we don’t really know what to expect. We will try to put all the assets on our side, to do the best. The videos of friendly matches are not too telling, so we made the choice to focus mainly on us.
In the absence of the solicited globalists, teams like Toulouse are perhaps more takeable…
We are aware of that, but we are aware that it’s a double-edged sword because the guys from Toulouse want to score points, they want to show that they also deserve to be there and that’s it. their honor. The guys have teeth that scratch the floor, they want to play very well and get away with it. I don’t think we should rely too much on that.
Can we talk about “season of confirmation” after your 8th place last year and the unexpected final fight for the final stages?
Absolutely, we aspire to do things well. But we also know very well that we are going to be more expected this year. We are no longer Tom Thumb, the match that some may have prepared more as a dilettante. We will be more hunted, more expected, the guys will want to come and win at Jean-Dauger. It’s going to be hard. The challenge will be to resurrect. I’m even more suspicious of this season. I hope we will be able to meet the challenge. »
