Montauban Defeats Valence Romans 20-3: A Promising Start with Room for Improvement

In the locker room, the Sapiacains were satisfied, but aware that there are still areas of work.

Pierre-Philippe Lafond (manager): “We played this match, not in summer heat but in scorching heat, and we hadn’t spoken to the players about getting the offensive bonus before kick-off. It was the way the match went that made that the bonus has become possible, and it’s a very good thing for a first day. Now, on the content and the form, there will be a lot to discuss, watch, and correct. The heat wave disturbed the players, but it doesn’t excuse our approximations, our hand errors, and our bad choices. We dominated enormously in the first half without materializing. We made the hole in the second half, before falling back into our faults. The game is not finished, and we know that we still have a lot of work to do. In the locker room we were happy, but not satisfied. We know that we must, and that we can do better. The black point of the evening will have been the offensive approximations. You have to build your collective experience. From this weekend we will switch to the trip to Nevers. A big piece awaits us. You will have to go and have a good match at the Pré-Fleuri because if you don’t do it you take fifty. We have to exist in every game.”

Yoan Cottin (scrum half): “It’s done. We beat a team that had made great friendly matches. They held on despite our domination. We respected them. Everything was not perfect with a ball made slippery by perspiration, but we takes the offensive bonus. We’re going to have to get used to the heat wave. We always believed in it, without doubting even by only leading 5-0 at half-time. We had fun playing the first match together. We will need more precision in the rucks, otherwise it could turn against us. Going to Nevers next Friday is a great challenge, we will have to take it like all the others. It will not be my match, but the one of the whole team. We will see what we are worth on the outside, against the great team of Nevers”.

Fabien Fortassin (manager of Valence Romans): “We expected a big first game and we were served. I told the players that I was going to start with the positive by saying that after being so dominated without almost leaving our camp for 40 minutes, so many penalties, lost balls in touch, and a catastrophic kick game we should have taken sixty and we finished 20 to 3. This means that the state of mind was good. We defended well. But that is not enough in Pro D2 to exist against teams like Montauban, which was much cleaner than us. Bosviel’s footwork hurt us. The result is logical. I came with an “Ibou “in memory of him because I’m always caught up in his challenge and he was a friend. It’s always a pleasure for me to come back to Sapiac, where I spent two great seasons”.

Cyril Deligny (hooker for Valence Romans): “A complicated evening for us, where we had to defend a lot. We suffered in the first half, being well paid to turn 5-0. We were deprived of balls. We have to continue working. We had done good friendly matches. We have just seen the level of the Pro D2. The state of mind is good, but that was not enough. It is a hard learning curve. We will have to hang on to every game. We will never give up and that should smile on us.”

Montauban 20 – valence novels 3

MT: 5-0; 3000 spectators; referee: Mr. Ludovic Carillo (Ile-de-France).

Winners: 3 E Tuculet (15), Agnesi (55), Guillemin (60), 1 T (60), and 1 P (43) Bosviel.

Defeated: 1 P Meret (53).

Evolution you score : 5-0 / 8-0, 8-3, 13-3, 20-3.

UNION SPORTIVE MONTALBANAISE. tuculet; Vici (Rokoduguni, 46), Reilhac (Mathy, 67), Goggin, Guillemin; (o) Bosviel, (m) Bernadet (Cottin, 54); Quercy (cap, Wilkins, 71), Witt, Wilkins (Kanik, a 51); Vaotoa (Bean, 51), Bradshaw; Burduli (Laval, 51), Firmin (Greyling, 24, then Firmin, 32, then Greyling, 46, then Firmin, 75), Bué (Agnesi, 46, then Bué, 67, then Agnesi, 73).

Yellow card : Bean (74).

VALENCE ROMANS DROME RUGBY. Worth (Great, 65, then Worth, 70) ; Vargas (Pauvert, 73), Pauvert (Guillomot, 45), Neiceru, Mawalu (Maguranyanga, 54); (o) Meret, (m) Menzel (Lhucero, 54) ; Bruchet (cap), Iashagashvili (Hayes, 45), Bholi (Brayer, 58); Maamry, Dyer ; Goze (Milasovitch, 50), Marco-Pena (Deligny, 45), Aleo (Royer, 50).

Yellow card : Worth (27), Royer (77).