Here are Tarbais who roll full throttle towards the Top 6 thanks, in particular, to two last reversals of situation with, in both cases, the victory at the end.
Two last positive results against Hyères (25-19) and Narbonne (34-37) which allowed the Tarbais to stay in the race for qualification by playing a 6th undefeated match: 1 draw and 5 victories, including 3 acquired at the ‘outside.
Intact Tarbais state of mind
This means that the Stado has forged over the matches a qualifying character that could surprise more than one, but certainly not the Tarbes coach: “The victory at Narbonne may have surprised a lot of people , but not us. It’s true that a lot of people have been telling us since the draw at Blagnac, that qualifying was flying away and that the season was good to end quietly, without too much ambition. But, for us, that has never been the case and we have always believed in us”, explains Fabien Fortassin who adds: “Narbonne has only confirmed the ambitions we had and the state of mind is still the same”.
Of which act and we can count, this evening, on the Tarbais to continue their march forward against a Nice team which they are ahead of in the standings with 54 points against 48.
Nice people who had however taken the upper hand (32-13) on their land, to free themselves from the weight of a first victory but who, since then, have not had the expected performance despite a large budget and a substantial workforce.
Nice comes to Tarbes “to win”
In fact, led by Jeronimo Negrotto, the visitors see the trip to Tarbes as a march towards the Top 6: “We’re going to Tarbes to win. To say that it’s a change in the season, no, it’s too early because there will be games behind. It’s an important game against a direct competitor in the top 6. It’s an unpredictable team that plays very well at rugby. They are very strong on the fundamentals with a good conquest. we are ready to respond to the level of the fight”, confided, via his club, the Argentinian international also passed by Tarbes, then in Pro D2.
“Either they pick up, or they drop out”
The people of Tarb have been warned and will have to face up to the inclinations of the people of Nice to provide themselves with enough to fuel their plans.
The fact remains that Fabien Fortassin, too, makes no secret of Tarbes intentions: “Nice has announced that they are coming to seek their qualification which necessarily involves a victory for us. It’s an important match for both teams but not for them either. they pick up again, or they drop out. For us, if we win all our matches, we qualify. So, we don’t have to rely on anyone and each stage is like a final phase match. We are removed from any negative pressure because maintenance is largely acquired. We are the small budget that mixes with the big ones and not many people believe in us. We are doing our merry way on tiptoe because I see that we are talking more about the 9th or 10th as a candidate for qualification “But it suits us very well. We focus on us, on what we have to put in terms of content in the game. If we are consistent, there is a good chance of getting a good result”.
An accessit which would allow the Tarbais to open the door of the Top 6 a little more since Bourgoin-Jallieu after his defeat last night at Valence-Romans (55-13) is more than ever in the line of sight, at a small point ahead…
