Usap-MHR, the moment when everything changed: Montpellier's impenetrable defense just before half-time

Yacouba Camara au grattage, les autres alignés en défense… Les Montpelliérains étaient infranchissables. MIDI LIBRE – DORIAN CAYUELA

The defense was the driving force behind Montpellier's victory against Perpignan (26-7) this Saturday, September 14, embodied by this immense sequence before half-time.

The best attack is defense. And if Montpellier made it their motto this year, Geoffrey Doumayrou would appreciate it, no doubt. His men built a wall on the Raoul-Barrière stadium on Saturday afternoon. And the last stone was laid in the 40th minute of this match against Perpignan, just to make sure it was impenetrable. “We never managed to break it”, Franck Azema, the Catalan manager, could only observe.

This defensive sequence just before the break was the turning point of the match. However, despite a comfortable lead (13-0), we felt that the slightest Héraultian fault could upset its fragile balance. But no. Braced on their line for five minutes, Lenni Nouchi's teammates never cracked against the Catalan heavyweights. The indiscipline (4 fouls in 4 minutes) was compensated by a colossal expenditure of energy.

Duguid beats Tuilagi

The Perpignan players tried to insist by hand, but they came up against a problem. Tyler Duguid even left his calling card to the mammoth Posolo Tuilagi (39th). The Canadian's tackle was so impressive that it surprised the referee of the day, Mr. Praderie, who was checking the video to see if there was a misplaced shoulder. And no. Duguid and the Montpellier players were ready to sacrifice themselves so that no Blood and Gold crossed the line. Result: no points conceded.

This solidarity shown in defense is not a coincidence. It embodies the cohesion of this group. “Before the match, we told each other that we loved each other. That now, we had to translate it on the field”, Thomas Darmon said. The declaration of love bore fruit. Eight players passed the ten tackle mark, guided by captain Lenni Nouchi (19 tackles).

"We have quite a few coaches and quite a bit of inexperience. But they have all been doing a lot of work for the past two months, like Doumayrou. The players have shown that they adhere to what he is proposing", appreciated manager Caudullo. The reception of Toulouse next week will be a new test. And what a test…