After the success on the European scene, the Gironde club – which hosts Toulon this Sunday evening – will have to resolve its defense and discipline problems to establish itself firmly among the first.
There are only three of them to have achieved a flawless performance and gleaned ten points during the first two days of the Champions Cup. The Scots from Glasgow, defeaters of Toulouse, the English from Northampton, finalist of the last edition, and Bordeaux-Bègles, who achieved the feat of winning against the South African Bulls (33-46) before logically defeating the modest Welsh Scarlets (50-21). “The mission is accomplished, greeted Bordeaux manager Yannick Bru. I’m really happy with these ten points, with the state of mind of the players, who remained very focused despite the rotations and lots of little excuses that we could have found.”
A fantastic start for the reigning European champion, who must now quickly move to the Top 14 where things are not as bright. Matthieu Jalibert’s gang is in fact “only” sixth in the ranking and, more unusual, remains with two setbacks: a defeat in Chaban against the Section Paloise (33-34) and a setback in Montpellier (28-24). If the offensive strike force no longer needs to be proven, there is still “small disappointments with the technical content”underlined the Girondin technician.
I am disappointed by the ease with which our opponents entered our 22 meters and crossed our goal line
Yannick Bru
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We will have to tighten the screws in the championship – it starts this Sunday evening against RC Toulon – particularly in defense (54 points conceded in two European matches and 27.5 points per match on average in the Top 14) and concerning discipline (13 penalties conceded against the Scarlets). “I am disappointed by the ease with which our opponents got into our 22 meters and crossed our goal line. This is a subject that should alert us, because it will not pass against more efficient teams. insists the UBB manager.
Already, after the setback against the MHR, Bru had railed: “Montpellier entered our 22 meters three times and scored 21 points. That’s seven points per entry, it’s a world record!” A problem again deplored, last Sunday, by the international third row Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, who will not be retained by the UBB at the end of the season and could join Pau. “We don’t get drilled too much in the midfield, but when they get to our scoring zone, they score. “It’s going to become a problem as we advance in the competition,” he warned in South West.
“We will have to erase all that because the next deadlines will be tougher”
And Yannick Bru agrees: “We have difficulty finding balance, we project ourselves in attack and we sacrifice ourselves in defense.” Settings to quickly find. Currently injured in the shoulder, the pillar Ugo Boniface nevertheless beat the recall of the troops, on the airwaves of Ici Gironde: “Defeat forbidden, especially to regain victory at Chaban. The last time was the defeat against Pau. We must stop this little negative spiral and return to success. If it is only with four points, it will already be good, but a victory is obligatory.»
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Especially since UBB is already eight points behind the first two, Pau and Toulouse. But an improved success against the RCT (without conceding the defensive bonus) could allow the Unionists to climb onto the podium, ahead of their opponents this Sunday. Fears shared by Matthieu Jalibert, author of a remarkable start to the season: “There was a lot of slag, a lot of indiscipline mistakes (against the Scarlets). We will have to erase all that because the next deadlines will be tougher. And if we give too many opportunities like that to the opponents, we risk being in difficulty. Ugo Boniface confirmed that “the black spot is the defense. We are working to improve that. When you quickly gain the upper hand, you fall easy…” First elements of response expected this Sunday, against Toulon.
