The SUA is now five points ahead of 15th place occupied by Bourg-en-Bresse. But the upcoming calendar is one of the richest. But the competitors in the maintenance will not have an easy end to the season either.
We had spotted it as soon as the Pro D2 calendar came out last summer. The end of the SUA season was going to be complicated, with confrontations against major teams in the championship, often on the move. Eight matches from the end, the men of President Jean-François Fonteneau will thus travel five times for only three matches in Armandie.
At present, Agen is still stuck in 12th position, with a small lead over his pursuers. Three points on Grenoble, four on Rouen and five on Bourg-en-Bresse. Which reinforces the bitterness of the defeat in Ain…
Beaten twice consecutively, the SUA must quickly regain victory to restore the air in the standings and not see the specter of the red zone getting dangerously close again. But in Aurillac, we know that it is never easy.
What strategy in Aurillac?
Especially since the Agenais gave a lot, chaining meetings in February with an almost frozen group. So what will be the staff policy for the last two matches of the bloc? A turnover in Cantal to anticipate the arrival of Carcassonne in 15 days?
In this last straight line towards maintenance, the matches at Armandie will be more important than ever. We think in particular of the arrival of Rouen on April 8, where Vincent Farré and his teammates will be forced to win, if possible by not leaving the bonus to the Normans. For export, the task looks difficult. Agen will travel to Montauban, where the locals will certainly not have forgotten the humiliation of the first leg (41-17). Behind will follow Oyonnax, Provence and Colomiers. Overall heavy.
Complicated calendar for Bourg-en-Bresse and Rouen
But the end-of-season schedule is not kind to the other teams struggling to maintain it. Bourg and Rouen will also travel five times for three receptions. After a trip to Narbonne next Friday, the Bressans will successively face the three leaders of Pro D2 (Mont-de-Marsan, Oyonnax and Bayonne). The Normans, they will have to move to two direct competitors: Agen therefore, and Grenoble on the last day. Ultimately, it is the Isérois who have the best schedule with five matches at the Stade des Alpes.
The small lead of Sporting over its pursuers and the schedules of Bourg-en-Bresse and Rouen therefore place it in a favorable tie, for the moment. But it is clear that Bernard Goutta’s troops will not have to be satisfied with this and rather apply themselves to getting points everywhere to validate the maintenance as quickly as possible.
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