Faced with Argelès, the RCMPL must regain its competitiveness

Rude adversaire ce dimanche pour le RCMPL.

Match retour en 16e de finale de Fédérale 2 pour l’équipe première et 8e de finale en Fédérale B sont à l’agenda du Rugby club Méditerranée Palavas-Lunel ce dimanche.

On the occasion of the return match in the round of 16 in Federal 2, the flagship team of the Rugby club Méditerranée Palavas-Lunel meets the Catalan Sports Star on its home field at the Louis-Baumes stadium in Palavas. A tough opponent who has already given the locals a hard time. Indeed, only the return match in the regular phase gave them the advantage. In the first leg, they lost on their own ground and last week, they lost in the round of 16 by 13 to 6.

"The Argelès team is well in place, and we knew that. It relies on a strong defense and they are efficient in conquest. For our part, we were taken by the challenge. The team was tense and after three weeks without a match, it was difficult to get into it, analyzes Philippe Garriguenc, head coach.

The defeat thus cost Argelès 7 points behind. What the coach puts into perspective: " 7 points, it's just a try. Sunday we did not show the same face as throughout the season. The objective is to find the same dynamic to take the match from the right end. We had the week to refine this and put more competitiveness in relation to the characteristics of Argelès. We'll have to raise the slider, which we didn't do for the first leg."

So, even if the locals completed an almost flawless qualifying phase and finished at the top of their group, they must forget this period if they want to continue the adventure in the final.

For its part, the reserve team in Federal B reached the 8th final after beating Villefranche-de-Lauragais in the 16th round by 26 to 19. Like their counterparts from the first team, they will also find a complicated opponent. They will in fact be facing Salanque-Côte radieuse who beat them twice in the regular season. "It's a great team that isn't very successful for us. It has a real identity with many players from their training. The meeting will be difficult, warns the coach.

Team One receives the Catalan Sports Star at 15 h. At the same time, the reserve faces Villefranche-de-Lauragais on neutral ground, at the Pierre-Lavit stadium in Cessenon-sur-Orb.