For his return home, Brive crushed Béziers, 35 to 5 and Patrice Collazo did not shy away from his pleasure. His men offered five essays to their public, which came en masse (nearly 9,000 people).
What is your first analysis after this brilliant success against Béziers for the return of CAB to their stadium?
It was necessary to recreate the link with the supporters. That was the most important thing. I had told the players that they had the power to make people happy. And I think we managed to get the public on board with us. In a 32-game season that gives the bonus to regularity and consistency, we will do nothing without our supporters. It was important to start well.
Did you feel a collective dynamic?
Yes, but it had started as early as last week. In Agen, we had done good things that we validated this evening against Béziers. Today, we managed a good first act, the second was a little less successful because of various adjustments due to injuries. We ended up aiming for the same pace but with less performance. We lacked clarity at times, clearly, but it was due to the changes I had to make in the scrum, especially with players not always in their position. I had made a 5-3, I should have made a 6-2 without a doubt. But I remember from this match our desire to score and get back there as soon as possible. And that, we had lost it a little in the past. I come back to this notion of collective desire, a player made such a decision, the fourteen others followed suit. And in this context, even mistakes or bad choices were transformed into positive actions.
Your counterpart from Béziers spoke of a big athletic difference between his team and yours…
Yes finally, I find that in the combat zones, they did not go out. They imposed phases of struggle on us. But if I push my analysis, what I regret is the test we took at the end. It’s true, I wanted a zero try match for the opponent. We built the game for that. It was an important element of the evening and I was happy to see my players countering the biterroise touches in our 22 by winning or defending.
Furthermore, I would like to point out that it was a very demanding match. We did not hit any penalty until the last minutes (failure of Garden-Bachop, editor’s note). I think our forwards will sleep well. At the break, I felt like they had already gone three games after the succession of sideline kicks and penetrating mauls that followed.
In which sector have you made the difference?
I can’t say, it’s collective, we found solutions from the front, but the three quarters also brought us speed. And the context was not easy because we welcomed a lot of new players in the off-season, especially at the back lines.
We felt a good understanding between the two centers Sam Johnson and Paula Walisoliso, right?
Yes, although they did not know each other a month and a half ago. But we must continue to find automatisms in the first block. As much in front, it is easier to find connections with Arnaud Mela because everything is more restricted. As much behind, it takes more experience, more bond between men and it takes time. We had placed Stuart Olding at the back today to bring more experience precisely.
What are your immediate goals?
We won the right to resume training and go to Montauban where it will be very difficult. It must be understood that in this first block of five games, the teams will not rotate their workforce. Béziers had not run today for example. And we won’t be turning against Valence or Aix-en Provence either. And I do not forget that on our first five appointments, we will move three times. Afterwards, at the heart of the season, the workforce will be managed differently. But for now all matches will be played flat out.
#Patrice #Collazo #recreate #link #supporters
