Expected at the turn at Massy, last of Pro D2 at the start of the ninth day, Stade Montois had to react after two consecutive defeats. On the contrary, Mont de Marsan showed a worrying face, beaten without being able to take the defensive bonus, unable to dominate an opponent normally within reach.
For this trip to the Paris region, the staff led by Patrick Milhet placed the players in front of their responsibilities. Only four changes compared to the reception of Agen, including the returns of Léo Banos and Yoann Laousse Azpiazu. But an amorphous team, dominated in the combat phases.
We were not present in the behavior, the attitudes – Stéphane Prosper
Mont de Marsan spent almost the entire game with his head underwater, caught up in a pugnacious defense that didn’t give up and a pack of effective forwards offensively. Until thwarting the Montois. “We lacked a lot of aggression” concedes one of the coaches Stéphane Prosper.
“We are beaten in the engagement, the ruck war, the collisions and that is what puts us in difficulty” adds the only landais to have spoken after the meeting. “It’s a weird game with a lot of technical waste on both sides, a fairly poor quality of footwork on our side which regularly puts us in danger and under pressure. Beyond that, we are not present in commitment and it makes me angry.”
Stade Montois already in a hurry?
With this third consecutive defeat, the fourth in five games, Mont de Marsan saw a gloomy autumn. Leader of Pro D2 in mid-September, the Montois are now tenth, twelve points behind the top of the classification occupied by Oyonnax and four points from the top 6. The good start to the season, building on last year’s momentum, is already far.
But from there to speak of urgency, Stéphane Prosper prefers to evoke “a bad series. We will have to react very quickly to reverse this trend.” Starting with the reception of Colomiers next week for the end of the second block of the season, already missed. Before a saving break which should allow Stade Montois to close ranks.