Experienced Hooker Jean-Charles Orioli Looks Forward to Positive Pressure in Pro D2 Semi-Finals at Stade des Alpes

We thought you were out, you will finally be on the pitch against Mont-de-Marsan. Did you fear about your participation in this semi-final?

In fact, I had received a small alert at the level of the calf of our trip to Biarritz. I thought it was a cramp, so I trained normally the following Tuesday. It turned out that in reality, there was a small injury… So, with the staff, we decided not to take any risks during the reception of Vannes, knowing that there would be the final stages behind. And as my friends had the good idea to go get the half at home, I was even able to benefit from one more week to properly re-athleticize myself.

You experienced the final stages of the European Cup and the top 14 with the great Toulon. Do these have the same flavor?

I think all the final stages have the same taste, whether it’s the amateur level or the European Cup. These are always special weeks, which we attack a little with the ball in the belly, knowing that everything can stop suddenly. It’s really something very special, you can never get tired of it. It’s really another season that begins, the sprint after the marathon of the regular season. All the cards are reshuffled and the best is yet to come.

That said, the weather for the week didn’t really look like endgame weather…

It’s true that it seems a long time ago when our coaches forbade us to go to the beach during the week so as not to risk sunburn or sunstroke (laughs). With the weather in Grenoble at the start of the week, at least we didn’t risk sunburn. It’s true that it wasn’t really final phase weather, but hey… We tried to take advantage of it anyway.

You are without a club in view of next season. Could a rise in the Top 14 change the situation with the FCG?

No, the club has chosen to leave next season with its four youngsters, it’s something that I can hear and that I respect, so even a rise would not change my future with the FCG. Honestly, I don’t know what my future will hold, and I don’t want to pollute my mind with it. I’m about to play in the finals and I want to take advantage of it, period. It may be my last game on Saturday, maybe not, we’ll see. But frankly, I don’t put any pressure on myself about that. I just don’t want it to end on Saturday.

The Pro D2 semi-finals are a historically “gap-breaking” stumbling block for home teams. We imagine that as a former, your role in the week was central…

In any case, it is the role of experienced players, who have had the chance to experience the final stages in the past, to share their experience. It is all the more important that within this group which is very young, few players have already experienced it. Afterwards, the advantage with this team is that everything flows on them, including the pressure, and that’s good. It’s still a rugby game and I think it’s just a fabulous opportunity to play a semi-final at home. It’s always better to feel the support of the public behind you than the other way around…

If they don’t feel the pressure, your team has already shown an annoying tendency to be undisciplined in high-stakes matches…

It’s true. It’s going to sound very cliché, what I’m about to say, but in a knockout game, it’s always the team that makes the fewest mistakes that wins. This is why discipline will be very important, we must be prepared to manage our emotions well. We know that a final phase match is worth thirty championships in terms of the emotions it generates, and we must now be able to master them.