He has known everything from the “Bru era” to Aviron Bayonnais, since 2018. The victories, the joys of a climb, the defeats and the “trauma” downhill last season after the accession match against Biarritz on the lawn of Aguiléra. Joël Rey, in charge of the Bayonne forwards, talks about the confrontation against Mont-de-Marsan, the lessons of the regular season and the state of mind of the Bayonne group.
Three days before this trip to Montpellier and your final against Mont-de-Marsan, what is the state of mind?
Joel Rey: The state of mind is very good. Throughout the year, we hoped to be there, we are there. That’s it, it’s an appointment that we had fixed. It was less easy than expected, but hey, that’s rugby and this Pro D2 championship. Nobody left us the place. We had to grab it. We got there. Now. Now there is the final, the players are like a lot of people: they are waiting to know the team to be in good shape. They are all positive. Even players who know who may not be affected by this game are doing everything necessary to allow us to work well.
Mont-de-Marsan, the only team you failed to beat during the regular season…
There is no possible doubt. Mont-de-Marsan is the best team at the end of the Pro D2 championship. But the strength of rugby is that it’s not because you’re number one that you end up champion, you still have to do the final stages. That’s what I love. What we did during the regular season means that we still have an opportunity to win Mont-de-Marsan once, and that may be the most important.
What lessons do you draw from the two confrontations against Mont-de-Marsan?
I had found the Montois in the first leg (lost 14-33, November 5), at home, well in place defensively and very very opportunistic. They countered us, were very good at countering and efficient. The first thing is to manage not to give them the same opportunities they had that day. Then, the return match at home (15-13 defeat, April 1) … You need a part of efficiency, when you lead the score. At the 65ᵉ I think, we were leading, we had the opportunity to keep the score, we didn’t. Players in their thirties, with experience, must take their responsibilities at this time and say where to go again, to know how to keep the score. Yes, there were two matches, but I know that the final will be something totally different. I am sure of myself.
Regularly, we saw the staff on the bench ask for the points while the players took the penalty. Were instructions given to the group for this final?
So there, I speak in my name, not in the name of Yannick (Bru, editor’s note). I know that with Yannick, we often talk about it, we say that we would like the three points, the penalty rather than hitting the key. But afterwards, as they say, it is the players who are on the field. Me, I was a player. When you make the decision, even if your coach tells you something else, it’s because you feel it. Afterwards, you have to score, that’s for sure. You have to take responsibility. For me, that’s not a problem. If the players feel something, it has to be done. Now I know that Yannick has cleared things up (laughs).
This final, this potential title of champion of France and this rise in the Top 14, is there behind the objective also to wash away what happened during the accession match last season against Biarritz ?
Yes, there was the access-match, it’s true. It’s a trauma, I admit it, I understand it. There is no problem. Me, it’s mainly on the season that we did last year. Throughout the season, we showed that we could fight against very good teams, we achieved results in Toulouse, in Toulouse, in Paris. We did not show that we were a small team. We won ten matches, we had 42 points. Today, you are looking at the two teams at the bottom of the ranking, one of the two which risks remaining (Brive) at 42 like us. So, we were more than present in our goal and it was a matter of few things, that’s how it is. This is rather why we want to go up. We said to ourselves that with the same men, with the same staff, with still a lot of players who were with us last year and who stayed, Ugo Boniface, but many others too. They wanted, they want the club to be able to come back up. It is rather that which animated us throughout the season. It’s not a frustration, it’s like that and it’s sport. But that’s what drove us. It’s because we didn’t deserve it and we want to come back to it.