Reactions after Castres – MHR: “I can’t believe that at some point, things don’t smile on us”

Léo Coly et les Montpelliérains échouent à un point à Castres. DR

Staffs et joueurs du MHR et du Castres Olympique se sont présentés en conférence de presse ce samed 11 mai, après la victoire du CO d'un point (27-26).

Florian Vanverberghe (CO second row) : "It’was a very difficult match. It was hot, the bodies were put to the test. We showed a crazy state of mind, that’s Castres. It’s one of the most beautiful victories, the one where we sacrifice ourselves for each other. There is still waste, it’s up to us to work to remove it. Now, we take the matches one after the other and we will see in the end what awaits us."

Jeremy Davidson (CO manager) : "It’s not good to be a manager, not good for the heart. We found a state of mind even if we gave too many gifts. Fortunately, Montpellier missed points and we were only three points behind at half-time. Montpellier put the game in place, showed good things up front. On the impacts, they were very hard. It was a big match, like this Top 14. For the rest, we'll see. Focus on the next match, in Clermont."

Montpellier

Patrice Collazo (MHR manager) : "I can't believe that at some point it doesn't smile on us. If we were demobilized, we would have exploded on the last day (in Perpignan, 20-25 defeat), in a not easy context. We created chances in the first half but we didn't get away. There, it’s a bit the same config'. But there, we are more dense and competitive over 80 minutes since we have the cartridges to snatch victory. If we leave with four points, no one will cry foul. But the truth is that Castres imposed itself.

First observation: I'm disappointed for the players. Second: we are not demobilized. Third: we will continue to fight. In our situation, it comes down to micro-detail. We need to have an even more impeccable state of mind, to be even more precise.

There are two options, anyway. If it’s the worst, access, we’ll go. But we are in the process of building, I think, a state of mind. We're working on what's next."

Marco Tauleigne (third line and MHR captain) : "It’s frustrating. We managed the first half well, we were quite calm. On quite a few points, we manage to get out of the camp. The few mistakes we made, we paid for. We collapse at a point. But there are positives, especially in the state of mind. We never gave up. It will help us for the future, whatever happens. If we manage to maintain our state of mind, I hope that we will be rewarded later."