MHR-Vannes: Montpellier must avoid sinking and win on home soil against the Bretons

Beaten by Toulouse and Lyon, Tambwe and MHR must win at home against Vannes. Midi Libre – DORIAN CAYUELA

After two home defeats, Montpellier hosts the bottom team, Vannes. A match that is already crucial in the fight for survival, this Saturday, October 12 (4:30 p.m.).

It is not a match that is all or nothing, but not far off. By hosting the promoted Vannes, last in the Top 14 with equal points with them, MHR will play a decisive match for the rest of its season. “They will come with intentions, warns Geoffrey Doumayrou, Montpellier's defense coach. It's up to us to be in place, to show for the first time this season that we are at home. If you don't have that pride, after two home defeats, I don't know when you will!”

But pride alone will not be enough to get the Héraultais out of the rut they have gotten themselves into. “It's boring to say every weekend that we're going to see if we have pride. It would be good to show it and not wait for disappointments”, whistles scrum-half Léo Coly.

“We are frustrated, I feel like I am constantly repeating it. Disgusted, even. But the good thing is that we can still control things. We have lost two matches at home and we have the opportunity to win our first home victory, warns the former Montois. It is a final phase match, it is a final for us. We know that Vannes will come to get a result”.

Because with only one victory on the clock, the MHR is in the process of repeating the trick of the lack of results. “The image that we sent is that of a team that is fragile at home, in difficulty in quite a few sectors, continues Coly. We worked well this week, we put our ideas back in place, we told each other things. I think we will have a big reaction, I am sure we will have a big reaction."

"We know very well that we have to start getting going at home. You don't have to be an engineer to know that", Geoffrey Doumayrou supports.

"Concentration problems"

With the exception of its success against Perpignan, this MHR has not yet found its groove, too undisciplined, too clumsy and above all much too inconsistent. A half against Bayonne, another against Stade Français, gaps against Lyon or Toulouse… The biggest problem of Lenni Nouchi's partners remains this inability to provide 80 minutes at a sufficient level. “For the moment, it's complicated, analyzes the defense coach. We have guys who go crazy for 15 minutes or 20 minutes. That's what makes us not consistent over 80 minutes. I don't think it's physical. It's just concentration. Our discipline problems or offensive problems, they're concentration problems. For a moment, the guys, it seems like they forget everything, that they go off the game plan, are going to make a stupid mistake, we don't know why".

So many pitfalls that the MHR ship will have to avoid to not reach its alert rating, Saturday night. "We have players who are still below. And we expect more, Doumayrou grumbles. Of course last year was a trauma. But at some point, we are big boys. We have to move on. Above all, we have to grow up. We have to learn quickly". Under penalty of really putting yourself in the red.

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