“We’re going to drag this match along like a ball and chain”: reactions after Bayonne – MHR

Léo Coly and the Montpellier players completely missed their first half. MAXPPP – Emilie Drouinaud

After Montpellier's defeat in Bayonne (28-27) this Saturday, September 28 for the 4th day of Top 14, staff and players appeared at a press conference.

Bayonne

Cheikh Tiberghien, Bayonne fullback : “We would like it to happen differently. On the pitch, it's the same, we scare ourselves. It's not intentional. But I had confidence in the team that we could win this match. When you come into the second half with a 15-0, the big teams finish off the opponent, kill the match. There's a lot of work to do on that.”

Artur Iturria, Bayonne second row : “Our first half is controlled, that must have been a good omen. Then we struggle for thirty minutes in the second. But things are getting better. The big black mark is that we put ourselves in danger too easily. Last year, it was the same, we had trouble getting started at the start of the season. We have to do simple things. Even if we have waste, we tried to do things in order."

Guillaume Rouet, Bayonne scrum-half : "We like these scenarios, otherwise it's not funny. We have to finish the job at the start of the second half, on the contrary, we give them confidence. We came close to disaster. They score too easily, while they don't offer much play. We should never have had this scenario. But we had the character to score at the end."

Gregory Patat, Bayonne manager : “We had a very good first half with a lot of intentions, we put this team under pressure. We were a little nervous in the 40-40 zones, we gave away some free penalties. We ruined everything in five minutes with this return to play in this second half. As for us, I have the impression that we have to be afraid all the time. The idea was to keep him away from the halfway line, but we overplayed, made mistakes, we conceded easy tries. We need forty minutes to build our rugby and score fifteen points. And them, in five minutes… We needed to isolate them more in the corners. We cannot accept this type of scenario."

Montpellier

Lenni Nouchi, third line of the MHR : “The first half, we endure everything that happens, defensively and offensively. We can't manage to play for two minutes. The forwards, we march, we have opportunities and we make mistakes. I'm the first, I make a stupid one. We're transparent. Obviously, in the locker room, we give a reprimand, which puts us back on the right path. In the second, we're good, we're better. But in the end, we accumulate mistakes, we get a yellow card and they go back in front. Playing 40 minutes out of 80 is not possible."

Joan Caudullo, MHR manager : "It's complicated to win a match in the first half. But in the end, we have the feeling that we should win it if we manage it well. When we compare Lyon and Toulouse, where we are behind, what Bayonne did this afternoon, we didn't manage to do it. We lose three points.

(Was there a breath of fresh air at half-time ?) You can't talk about anything. You don't have a ball, you're not good in touch, in the scrum. The scrum has been your strong point since the start of the season. It's technique and state of mind. For us to fall back like that, it meant that we weren't there. We had to explain to them that it wasn't possible to come back with a state of mind like that. If we have a state of mind on both halves, it's not the same match.

(Same face as against Lyon) When you're warned, it sucks. We'll have regrets. We're going to drag this match around like a ball and chain. We had the opportunity to play the first half of the table if we won.”