Mathieu Acébès never lets go of anything on the pitch but also outside of it. The USAP captain spoke at the end of the match won against Castres 14 to 10. After three initial losses, USAP won two matches in quick succession in the Top 14 (it had not happened since 2013) and left last place in the ranking.
After the defeat against Brive, a lot of supporters expressed their concerns. The team responded well on the pitch. If some had already sent the USAP to PRO D2, Mathieu Acébès gives the answer: “I have a feeling of pride after beating last year’s finalist, for a PRO D2 team, I think it’s not bad.” The tone is set.
“The last runner in a race will always be ahead of the one who is not running”
Mathieu Acébès continues and insists : “We know that we have done absolutely nothing, it’s a marathon championship. We also know that we are alone against everyone because since the start of the season, we have been sent to PRO D2 and we have suffered a lot of critics but we are there, with a team of broken arms but we are there, there is not a star and we will continue like this.
We’re going to keep our mouths shut and we’re going to stay between us. No one will fit into our group and we will stay like this until the end. There are too many parasites around us so we will stay focused. I always say it, the last runner in a race is still ahead of the one who doesn’t run and that’s the reality. I’m proud of the guys I play with and today they did something great and I’m proud of them.“
After this victory which completely revived the USAP in the top 14 and before going to face the French stadium on his landMathieu Acébès also keeps a cool head on the USAP situation: “I’ll say it again, we haven’t won anything, of course that gives us additional confidence, but on the other hand we’re also on the alert and we know that things can quickly change as was the case at the start of the season. . I’m not going to go back on it but in Pau we can win, against Brive by being catastrophic we can win and on the pretext that we don’t win both we should have thrown the whole team away and we are already sent to PRO D2. Let’s stay in our bubble and move on.”
“Boris (Goutard) proves the state of mind of this team”
Against Castres, the USAP, beyond the state of mind also showed its great progress in the game. For the first time this season, it did not take a try in the last moments of the match and that was vital today. For the captain, the fact that Boris Goutard made the last tackle of the match is a strong symbol: “JSee what guys do in practice all week. Boris (Goutard) who made the last decisive tackle, he’s one of those guys I’m talking about, who hang out there all week.
Boris, since the start of the season, he hasn’t had ten chances, he’s played in La Rochelle in a revamped team but he’s still there and he’s smiling all week like all the guys who haven’t always the chance to wear this jersey. Boris is perfectly integrated and he proves the state of mind of this team. He’s coming from Federal 1, nobody knows him but he’s there! On an important moment in the money time, he makes the decisive tackle on Nakosi who has many years of Top 14 behind him and who is an unbeatable finisher so congratulations to Boris!
And Mathieu Acébès to conclude : “To gain trust, it takes a long time. To lose it, in an instant you can lose the trust of your own supporters. In one match, you almost had to throw the whole team away when this group has been working for long years. I remember him. I remember him because there are people who are always there in the storm, that’s where you see the people who love USAP and want USAP to succeed and he There are always those who, during the storm, leave the boat and want to sink it. We are all in the boat and we will all stay there!”