Disappointments after disappointments, shots on goal, which at the opening… At the MHR, that’s not great

Léo Coly and the Montpellier residents are stuck in 13th place in the Top 14. Sports Press – Alexandre Dimou

After the defeat against Castres Olympique (27-26) on Saturday May 11, the MHR made its task a little more complicated to hope to grab 12th place.

The dam is no longer a taboo

The defeats keep coming and the prospect of a play-off match is looming. There are three days left and the miracle is still possible to grab a twelfth place. But – fortunately – the players are lucid. "The dam, we know that it’s a possibility. We will be ready", assured Léo Coly.

"The state of mind that we build will serve us well for the future", promised Patrice Collazo, implying that, that's it, the whole group is getting ready. The rest for the MHR is two receptions (Toulouse, Lyon) and a trip (Clermont). "We will know more after Toulouse (24th day)", slide internally.

The target for 12th place would be Lyon, knowing that there will be a direct confrontation between the two teams on June 1. To hope to get ahead of the LOU, Montpellier must perform flawlessly and hope for a misstep from Fabien Gegenbacher's men at home.

L’instant science fiction

We must hope that the MHR staff and players are not the type to ramble. Because by mixing and untangling the thread of the season, it's enough to get your brain in knots. "Imagine if…" could be on everyone's lips in Montpellier in the event of a disaster.

Since the start of the Collazo era, at least seven additional points have been left behind following botched kicking plays. "We never lose because of the scorers", players and coaches constantly emphasize.

But we can't help but imagine Louis Carbonel passing the drop of the win 25 meters in front of the posts in Lyon (20-18 defeat), passing the penalty to 40 m in the last minute at La Rochelle (18-10 defeat), Léo Coly scores the victory drop at Castres on Saturday.

In total, that's seven points left at the last second.

The state of emergency would not be as worrying. But hey, with if…

Why Léo Coly stumbled ?

The initiative has challenged. Louis Carbonel, scorer for two seasons with Montpellier and third best director in the championship, left responsibility for the goal to Léo Coly. The scrum half has almost never taken on this role since he wore the Hérault jersey, even though he finished top scorer in Pro D2 with Mont-de-Marsan in 2022 (305 points) .

"Léo is a proven scorer. Jérémy Valls (in charge of the kicking game), in exchange with Carbo and Léo, worked in several configurations. They made a joint decision", explained Patrice Collazo.

"We discussed it among ourselves. Louis was less well and I didn't mind helping out. I have had failures. I was disturbed by the wind, I typed badly. I take responsibility for it. It happens to all scorers. Today was a day without, assured the scrum half, author of a 4/7 against the poles.

And Paolo Garbisi went away

Going out stunned against Castres, Louis Carbonel is not sure he will be fit for the next match against Toulouse. What will the staff do if their fly half loses ? Louis Foursans has not been in the plans from the start. And it's hard to imagine Léo Coly taking on the position of number 10. The departure of Paolo Garbisi to Toulon this winter, in the middle of the season, is also likely to give headaches. One more or one less…

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