USM president Jean-Claude Maillard takes stock of his club’s contrasting season in the French Pro D2 rugby championship, which ended on Friday with a victory against Grenoble (38-31 ).
President Maillard, what is your assessment of this season which is coming to an end?
This is my first season entirely at the club. Previously, I had taken the current season and the levers were weaker. This season is obviously marked by the covid. It’s a season that I qualify as average. we finished in 9th place, it is an increase of 4 places compared to the previous season. But in February-March we had the feeling that we could grab 6th place. The seesaw is Béziers, we lose and we have not recovered.
9th certainly but with a smaller number of points since the rise in Pro D2, no offensive bonus and two defensive bonuses. Doesn’t that appeal to you?
It is insufficient as we have all noticed. We can also say that we have as many victories as Nevers who finished in 7th place. We are even average less, just below… It’s a tough championship, apart from Perpignan or Biarritz, there are no favorites. The teams that can descend are multiple. we see it with Soyaux-Angoulême, who after a good season fell in National. In Pro D2, you have to be very careful.
To come back to your team, we note a weird style, big games and absences during the same game….
I agree with you. Our team lacked consistency, with some very good and some bad, during the same game., You can’t kill a match and win it with a bonus. We did not know
take advantage of our good ranking to drive the point home and hook up the right wagon.
Where did you decide to change things?
something had to be done, at the risk of retreating and being in danger.
You have decided to hire David Gérard as your main trainer. But what happens to the other coaches? is it a disavowal for them?
No, this is not a disavowal; I strengthen the staff. J. I changed staff a year ago, I want to give him time but I know that he needs a solid reinforcement to hope to succeed. We have the youngest of the rugby staff, we need to learn and become more experienced, that will help them progress on a technical level in terms of management.
Why the choice of David Gérard?
He is 44 years old. He is experienced. he was a player of very high international level. And it’s been more than 10 years that he has been coaching the Hopes of Stade Toulousain, then Béziers and the Top 14 with Lyon. He knows Pro D2, he knew all of our players. We had a long interview with David Gérard, the players were informed of our research and knew our candidates. He is unanimous, he met the staff and the mayonnaise taken.
What will become of Florian Ninard?
Florian becomes sports director and he will delegate the field and management part to David Gérard. Florian will take care of the rest, that is to say the player contracts, relations with agents, recruitment, projects related to the Sapiac stadiums and the Ramiérou training center. On this subject, I hope that we will finally start the Ramiérou to make it a tool worthy of the name, in relation to the association, which is fundamental. Young people need to be trained at home, to build a long-term relationship with them. To get there, you need resources (the Ramiérou) and skills. The arrival of Pierre-Philippe Lafond as manager of the association is therefore a step in the right direction.
What will be the sporting objective for the next season?
The goal is always to progress. We have gained four places in one year. If we continue like this, in two years, we’ll be first! But the objective is to get the qualification, a 5th and 6th place, that would be very good. While knowing that there are 12 clubs to aim for this objective …
Where are you in the recruitment process?
I can tell you simply that we still have to carry out 4 or 5 major recruitments.
in progress and which will be known in the coming days (1). We are in discussions with players on the positions of, pillar, second row, a versatile player 10 12 15, a back-winger and another winger.
You’ve been criticized a lot about the early departures of players like Graou and Sayerse. Do you regret these choices?
There has been a lot of criticism on this subject. You have to remember that originally, we had a lot of guys at the end of their contracts in June. Everyone wanted to know what to do with them in December. This forced us to position ourselves on their performance at the start of the season. I take the example of Paul Graou. Before exploding, it was not the same. He was way over. We hesitated, and we realize that this is a huge mistake. He showed that we were wrong.
Are you going to continue to be personally involved in the club?
I continue of course. I hope to see a dynamic build around me that I hoped for when I arrived at the end of 2019 and which takes time to be put in place. I particularly want to talk about the investments promised by the town hall, 30 million, in Sapiac and Ramiérou. There were certainly various and varied difficulties, but almost two years later, we still haven’t started. That said, I do not doubt the desire of the town hall to materialize and invest in rugby in Montauban. Our budget will always be around € 6 million.
Partners and subscribers have never let go, despite their frustration …
partners and the public have remained loyal. as soon as we welcome the public we will offer additional services compared to previous seasons to compensate for the weaning of the last months. we’ve all been weaned from the things we love. As soon as the pandemic drops I think people will want to go out and go to the stadium. It will be up to us to offer a show and performances to match and work around the stadium to be even more attractive.
Do you speak of life in Green …
La vie en Vert is an association chaired by Jean-Luc Mateille (president of MyJob Interim) and its vocation is to promote the reception of players and their families in Montauban. We help them, we make life easier for them and their families. That way, they won’t want to leave and will tell others about it …
Interview by Laurent Benayoun.
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