In the first leg, last September, Colomiers Rugby had largely dominated US Montalbanaise (41-14), in its Michel-Bendichou stadium. A few months later, it is the Tarn-et-Garonnais who receive, this Friday, January 7, in their basin of Sapiac. The kickoff of this Pro D2 derby will be at 7:30 p.m.
At the end of the Christmas holidays, for the resumption, the match is first important ranking side. Both teams have made a good start to the season, and they are distant only from a very small point! Colomiers Rugby is fifth with 41 points. Nothing ahead of USM, which is sixth with 40 points. “We are very close, to the point that we can feel the hot breath of the Montalbanais behind us“recalls the president of Colomiers Rugby, Alain Carré. The two teams are aiming for a qualification in the final phase of Pro D2, finishing in the first six places.
We feel the hot breath of the Montalbanais behind us
The pressure is therefore on the shoulders of the Haute-Garonne club, because in the event of victory, Montauban would pass the Columérins in the standings. But at USM coach David Gérard puts it into perspective: “Colomiers is a team that is very hard to maneuver, especially away from home“. Having said that,”an additional victory at Sapiac would allow us to hope for a slightly sunnier sequel“, while the Pro D2 championship is halfway through.
Despite the rain, the heat of the derby
Then, it is a question of supremacy, between the club of Tarn-et-Garonne and that of Haute-Garonne, separated by only sixty kilometers. And in Montauban, we still remember the crushing defeat to Michel-Bendichou in the first leg. The Tarn-et-Garonnais will therefore be keen to shine in front of the public of Sapiac, despite a gauge of 5,000 spectators, and a weather forecast which promises to be the worst. And even if the rain should fall, David Gérard feels the hot air of the Montauban-Colomiers derby: “two neighboring clubs which meet, two clubs which do not necessarily have affinities, but which do not hate each other either “.
“We’re going there to bring something back from our Montalbanese friends”, assures his side Alain Carré, the president of Colomiers Rugby. “These derbies always create a special atmosphere, especially since this year, we beat Montauban at home with a very large score, I’m sure they will be revenge”, he adds a bit lodger.
The rise in Top 14? No, out of prudence
Two clubs which also share the same ambitions : they want to settle in the medium term at the top of the Pro D2, without necessarily and immediately aiming to climb to Top 14. “We dream of a play-off at home, therefore of a third or fourth place in the standings, at the end of the season” says Alain Carré. The president of Colomiers Rugby for 17 years especially enjoys the “stability” of his team: “we are at 41 points, exactly like last year at the same period”.
Reaching the final stages of the Pro D2 remains the only objective, because if rising to the Top 14 is always a good performance, staying there in the long term is even harder. “We are in a world of the Top 14“analysis for his part David Gérard in Montauban. Not out of false modesty, but out of prudence. Colomiers and Montauban consider that they have not met the conditions sufficient to exist durably in the elite of French rugby.
Since the beginning of the 2010s, Agen, Bayonne, Grenoble and Oyonnax have made the yo-yo between the two divisions. Perpignan, too, which returned to Pro D2 immediately after climbing to the Top 14 in 2018-2019. The USAP has since found the best clubs, but had to find new partners, and boost its budget to 17 million euros, while remaining one of the weakest of the Top 14. That is ten million more than Colomiers and Montauban, approximately 7 million euros for a Pro D2 season.