“The icing on the cake.” L’Rowing Bayonne
picked up his first away win
in Clermont (25-20) this Saturday, November 5 on behalf of the 10th day of Top 14
. A historic first since since 1965, the Ciel et blanc had not won the Michelin (an 8-3 in the pool of the Challenge Yves-du-Manoir). They had a full, controlled match against a revamped ASM team, too. With this success, Rowing distances itself from Clermont
and above all joins the top six of this Top 14. The statements of manager Grégory Patat, and captains Denis Marchois and Camille Lopez.
Denis Marchois: “I’m happy with this group which has invested and it’s not easy, especially in the Top 14 and especially in this stadium. We know that there are always disappointed people because they play less, there are always guys who are chomping at the bit, and who feel maybe a little let down by the group and there, the guys who came back had things to prove for some, some were coming back from injury and they all did great things “We showed that we have a great group, a great team. Everyone is involved, we have a lot of good young players. That can help raise the general level of the team.
We will never feel saved.
We spent the first half, frankly, taking guys in the face and it’s exhausting to go back to the locker room. And we said to ourselves that it continued like that in the second half, it was not going to be possible. We didn’t want to take 60 points. At half-time, we say to ourselves that we have done nothing, that we go home twice, we score twice, we come out on ten points. It’s pretty. We just had to get out of our camp effectively and manage to get to their house and put them in trouble at home. We wanted to impose our game. We didn’t lie to each other, that we did the job. That’s all, but that’s fine.
It is sure that after Toulouse, we talk about it, we say to ourselves: “Well guys, there is one game left in Clermont, we still got the job done in the five games at home”, but I don’t know why, I felt the guys coming into the rotation couldn’t afford to miss out of respect for the work done so far. We thought it would be stupid to be on vacation at 5 p.m. when we could go on vacation with four additional points in the standings at 8 p.m. After that, nothing is done. We will never feel saved, unless it is mathematical. So we’re going to stay where we are and score as many points as possible to try to avoid major scares at the end of the year. So, we are very happy to have had five wins at home and in addition to having been looking for an away victory, which is moreover here.
Camilla Lopez: “It validates the performance away from home, where we had regrets in certain matches. We are looking for four Michelin points. To know the house, it’s not easy. For the little promoted that we are, it’s fine count. We’ll take it! Unconsciously, you’re on a big block, you’ve left feathers, you don’t have the squad of the others, you’re the little promoted…
We proved that we could count on everyone.
There was unconsciously a form of decompression. The job was done. Today, you do a few rotations and you come to win in Clermont. I’m happy for the guys who joined the group. We proved that we could count on everyone. Before going on vacation, we could not have dreamed of better. It’s four good points taken, but the season is long, the battle will be tough.”
Gregory Patat: “It’s a huge satisfaction, because we were forced to operate a rotation given the absences, the fatigue and the overuse of certain players. We asked the players to believe in themselves despite all these changes. , and we wanted to shake things up by not attempting penalties and putting a lot of pressure on this Clermont team. We knew they had a lot of absentees and that they could be vulnerable in their conquest, but we didn’t failed to implement this plan in the first quarter of an hour. We managed to hold the ball better and put the pressure on in the second half. At the start of the season, I would not have thought to find this team as well high in the rankings, but with the work done in training, worthy of the Top 14 for a fortnight now, our team is gaining momentum, and I want to see now if this group can have any limits.”
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