PRO D2 – On the verge of conceding the offensive bonus to Oyonnax through their indiscipline, the Isérois managed to offer themselves after the suspense an essential defensive bonus in view of the final sprint (24-28). Grenoble retains its second place thanks to this test in the last moments.
How long had the Stade des Alpes not been at such a party, copiously filled with 12,000 spectators for an atmosphere worthy of the Top 14? For far too long, of course. Far too much, in any case, not to constitute a form of discovery for the vast majority of the Isère team, particularly excited by the event, to the point of foiling it…
Because if the FCG knew how to impose on Oyonnax a challenge of exceptional intensity, the latter did not manage to completely control himself from the point of view of discipline, offering the referee Jérémy Rozier (legitimately on the nerves after having been deprived of Clermont-Brive…) too many opportunities to alienate him… “We all made mistakes, each one made his own even if I remember one or two situations where we were severely penalized, pointed captain Steeve Blanc-Mappaz. In the second period, the exchange with the referee was cut off, that’s what’s unfortunate. Afterwards, what is certain is that it is better that it happens now. We were only a few in the team to have experienced the big atmosphere at the Stade des Alpes, but now it’s an experience that the team has in common. I don’t know if we’ll come across Oyonnax again, in any case we want to relive moments like that, and we’re meeting the public against Mont-de-Marsan (April 7) because it will still be an important match. .”
“Pride takes precedence over frustration”
A deadline before which the FCG will certainly have to find solutions to further control its emotions and its commitment to the limit of the rule, while maintaining this enthusiasm and this madness which can be its strength. “When you are able to come back a hundred meters at the last minute when you have played more than half of the match at 14 or even 13, pride takes precedence over frustration and disappointment, whispered Isérois manager Fabien Gengenbacher. We never gave up in front of a full stadium that supported us until the end. Afterwards, Oyonnax is a great team and the great teams have to be played 15 against 15.” A moral that the Isérois will have to remember, if they want to continue to dream “from a semi-final at home” as assumed by the young hooker Barnabé Massa…
