Maintaining 53 or even 55 points
If we exclude the 2019-2020 season, which was stopped prematurely on the 23rd day due to the health crisis, it should be noted that of the last ten exercises having come to an end, only five teams in a relegation position on the evening of the 20th day have managed to save their heads in the professional world.
Rouen (passing in ten games from 32 points to 49) last season, Colomiers (35 to 61) in 2018-2019, Carcassonne (27 to 53), Narbonne (29 to 50) in 2014-2015, Carcassonne again (27 to 50) in 2013-2014, finally Béziers (26 to 51) in 2012-2013. If the high bar of maintenance was reached by Bourg-en-Bresse during the 2018-2019 financial year with 60 points on the clock (thirteen successes, one draw, sixteen defeats, six bonus points) and a fifteenth place in the standings, the lowest is to Bourgoin-Jallieu in 2016-2017 with seventeen units (four wins, one split, 25 losses, seven bonus points) and one last place (16th).
A future in slippers?
What does 2022-2023 have in store for us? We are used to writing it, the more the years pass, the more the level of the Pro D2 tightens. There are certainly always the leaders of the competition, but these are less and less numerous. As for the graduates on the lower tier, they are no longer as weak as they may have been a decade ago. So much so that more clubs are affected both by the Top 6 and by relegation. Given all these parameters, ten deadlines before the outcome, it seems to take shape that the maintenance will be played between 53 and 55 points.
One thing is certain: nothing will be easy at the end of the season, and the slightest point will be worth its weight in gold. For the time being, all eyes are focused on the arrival of Soyaux-Angoulême which must bite the dust Friday evening at Domec. But even if successful, the road leading to maintenance is still very long and strewn with pitfalls (receptions of Oyonnax, Biarritz, Mont-de-Marsan, Biarritz in particular). Because if an additional victory would bring the Carcassonne capital points to 38, it will still be necessary to pedal a lot to reach the bar.
Special offer in the stands.
Soyaux-Angoulême in commando mode
For Soyaux-Angoulême, promoted to Pro D2, a large part of the season and the maintenance operation is played out during this month of February. After having offered the scalp of Massy, the other promoted in its Chanzy stadium last Friday, Soyaux-Angoulême (15th), which is 5 points behind Carcassonne, first not relegated, is preparing to play another match at high stakes. And the series does not stop there since it is then the 13th of Pro D2, Montauban, another team under the threat of relegation at the end of the season that the trilogy of badly classified will end for the Charentais: “Obviously this series is important. We approach these matches as final phase matches. Faced with Massy, of course the result is satisfactory, but in the content there are still many things to improve”, launches Vincent Etcheto, the manager of Soyaux Angoulême.
A new adviser to the president
If the success against Massy healed the mental wounds, Soyaux-Angoulême remains a wounded beast despite everything and must still gain momentum to continue and play again, like a liberated team: “It is true that sometimes, especially in the brand area, we do not make the right choices. We debriefed on video, sometimes there are numerical superiorities that we do not exploit. We struggle to reward ourselves on our highlights and we pay cash for our slightest mistakes. We have to hang on for this trend to be reversed in the long term”, claims the manager of Soyaux-Angoulême who has seen the list of consultants expand in recent weeks.
Indeed, after the arrival of Laurent Cardona, a former professional referee who also officiates with the Union Bordeaux / Bègles, it is Fabrice Landreau, the former international who landed as adviser to the president: “We were looking for personalities to join us. Because, we felt that we were not far, but having men who arrive with a new speech can be a strong symbol”.
After having chained seven defeats in a row, Soyaux-Angoulême has finally returned to success. From now on, the road remains long for the SA XV which expects a big challenge in Carcassonne: “It’s a team that we respect a lot, which has a strong conquest, a big scrum and a good second line in particular. He doesn’t score many tries, but they have good goalscorers and know how to improve their possessions quickly. We will have to continue to progress in the content”. In the first leg, the Charentais won (18-6). This time, the cards are reshuffled, but the stakes are still just as decisive.
Joris Dupont arrives on loan
Hardly spared since the start of the season by glitches of all kinds, the Carcassonnais have just deplored in quick succession the departure to New Zealand for family reasons of Nick Grigg and the injuries of centers Pierre Aguillon and Brieuc Plessis-Couillaud. Under these conditions, the Carcassonne staff has just registered the loan until the end of the season of the Castres hopeful center Joris Dupont (22 years old, 1 m 80, 90 kg) whom Jean-Marc Aué knows well for having coached him among the “blue and white” hopefuls.Masibaka repartHe also took part in training on Wednesday morning with his new partners. It now remains to receive the approval of the NRL to be able to align it. If Joris Dupont arrives, on the other hand, the 3rd line Montpellier hopeful of Australian origin Alex Masibaka on loan from the MHRC, has already left. Even if the Carcassonne technicians would obviously have liked to count on his two reinforcements, financially, it seems that a choice had to be made.
