Pro D2: Béziers really did not consider losing against Provence rugby
|Sylvain Charlet (casquette rouge) annonce un gros combat en mêlée fermée. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART
Les Biterrois qui sortent d’une victoire à Valence Romans (22-29) pourraient frapper fort et se caler dans le haut du tableau en dominant Provence rugby ce vendredi, à Raoul-Barrière.
There are slippery bends that, if negotiated well, can allow you to gain confidence and accelerate when exiting the bend. The arrival of Provence Rugby, this Friday, in Béziers (9 p.m.) is one of them. A win would allow the Biterrois, currently fifth in the ranking, to position themselves at the top of the table and approach the rest of the hostilities with less pressure. The fact remains that Pierre Caillet's players will have to be up to a task that promises to be difficult. Firstly because the Provençal fifteen is strong. Like Béziers, he has two victories and didn't come far from the truth in Grenoble (15-12). He therefore arrives in Biterre with the intention of not getting bogged down in details. Especially since a win away from home would allow Aix to overtake Béziers…
The machine is back in motion
As for Béziers, they are assured that they are ready to take on the challenge. The victory at Valence Romans (12-19) got the ASBH machine back in motion after their home defeat against Biarritz. She now intends to continue on her momentum: “We are receiving a big player from Pro D2, who does not hide his desire to move up to the Top 14, assures Sylvain Charlet, the forwards coach, responsible for the Béziers scrum. Our ambition is to play a good match and win it. We reviewed last season's match, lost at home. This confirmed to us that we must not slow down against this team. Like everyone else, we are still getting used to it and looking for benchmarks. We found some at Valence Romans."
The closed scrum, a major asset
A collective asset, ASBH having shown in particular that it can rely on its closed scrum. Which will not be a luxury against the sixteen-legged monster of Provence Rugby: “They have great individualities and we cannot afford to be just average, we will have to be at 100%, warns Sylvain Charlet, confident in the ability of his forwards. Our scrum is good. We are working and everyone is invested. I am satisfied, but as I told the players, against a big team that also has a good scrum with internationals, there will be plenty to do." It is not only up front that we will have to fight, assures the coach who affirms that the slightest weakness, "will be paid for dearly".
A lesson learned
In the Drôme, the Biterrois also showed themselves to be more patient than against the BO in a game during which they had a tendency to confuse speed and precipitation. Often at fault, they had then offered a lot of ammunition to the Basques. A lesson visibly learned by a team which says it is wound up and intends to make its stadium vibrate:“I repeat, we are aiming to win in front of our home crowd, hammers home the Béziers coach. We are not thinking about defeat. If we have any self-esteem, we must beat them." Especially since a win would be a great launching pad for Béziers: "This could indeed allow us to tip over to the right side in view of the next matches. Mentally it's important", adds Sylvain Charlet.
As for center Branden Holder, when asked who the favorite is, all smiles, he doesn't hesitate for a second: "It's Béziers". It's going to be very hot, this Friday, at Raoul-Barrière.
At 9 p.m., at the Raoul-Barrière stadium
Béziers: Dreuille- Courtaud, Holder, Tupuola, Tuimaba- (o) Malié- (m) Marquès- Ancely (cap.), Pauta, Doumenc- Nkinsi, Benoy-Judje, Boulassel, Amrouni. Substitutes: Gonzalez, Fernandes, Gayraud, Koen, Añon, Lorre, Votu, Fincham. I subscribe to read the rest