The famine continued, lasted longer than expected.
When all the Top 14 teams finally found the field in August for friendly matches, then started the Top 14 a week ago, the Parisians continued to chomp on their brains.
In quarantine, the workforce having counted up to 27 positive cases at the end of an internship in Nice which caused much ink to flow.
Critics, legitimate, but also unworthy attacks on the part of the bosses of the UBB.
Which, annoyed with the package from Stade Français for the first day, insinuated that Paris had enough players to align with Jean-Bouin.
And too bad if a dozen of them were victims of lung damage.
In short…
"Some were very weak, had lung damage, which worried us a lot," summarizes Julien Arias, the co-trainer of the SFP, interviewed by the Dispatch.
It was really dangerous to ask them to return to competition after only a week of returning to training.
The League therefore made the right decision by postponing the match against UBB.
All the sick are cured, we have found a whole group for ten days.
They will not be in Olympic form on Sunday but at least they have resumed contact, scrums and will be a little better able to play. ”
“
We don't really know where we are.
Are we recovered?
That's a really big word.
Some were well shaken
”
Laurent Sempéré
The workforce healed, Paris will therefore finally find the ground this Sunday (7 p.m.) in Castres.
A real leap into the unknown.
Not the slightest friendly match, collective training reduced to a minimum for many sessions in small groups, without contact.
Not ideal for collective benchmarks and to prepare for the intensity of an official confrontation against an opponent who won in Agen a week ago… “We don't have the answer on the pace, conceded scrum-half Arthur Coville.
But we had made a big preparation.
We'll see if that's enough ... "
“There is a little apprehension, continues Laurent Sempéré, the coach of the Parisian forwards.
We don't really know where we are.
Are we recovered?
That's a really big word.
Some were quite shaken up.
What we fear most are all the little grains of sand in the cogs.
Nothing compensates for the match and we did not have a friendly match.
Despite everything, we still have certain benchmarks.
Considering what happened to us, we are quite happy with what we were able to do. "
Julien Arias seems a little less optimistic.
“We made some very nice oppositions at the end of last week but nothing replaces the competition.
Of course we are not ready.
We will not be at the top. ”
"
We need to" externalize ", it was hard to be in Paris in an apartment during confinement
"
Laurent Panis
“If we schedule three friendlies, it's not by chance.
It allows to find the binder.
We won't have that.
We know it.
We have a long delay.
It's up to us to do everything to catch up, adds the international second-row Yoann Maestri.
We know that it will surely take a little time in the field.
We don't have this homogeneity that we achieve during preparation and especially it's been months since we have played together.
But we can't wait to play again and show our best face. ”
Not necessarily in their best form, not collectively, the Parisians will count on the desire to surpass themselves, not to be ridiculous seven months after their last outing, a defeat on the wire in Toulon to remain blocked in 14th and last place .
“Above all, there is excitement.
There are a lot of things that have happened and we want to have fun again, ”says Arthur Coville.
“It's been six months that we have not turned away the competing grounds.
Impatience is there, that's for sure.
We need to "get outside", it was hard to be in Paris in an apartment during confinement, we need other things, to be on the meadow ", insists the hooker of the Pink Soldiers Laurent Panis .
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Joris Segonds tells about the state of mind.
“We spent six months without having played a rugby match.
What stands out today is envy, we can't wait.
We had a fairly long physical preparation, the hardest part was to cut again, to repeat that we have made a lot of efforts and that we will spend another 14 days at home.
It was hard to manage, ”confirms the opening half of the SFP.
Before adding.
“We all helped each other out, there were visios every morning between us.
And we said to ourselves that we weren't going to let go… ”
Everyone will therefore try to contribute according to their possibilities at the moment.
“Not all players affected have the same level of form.
Some are able to play, to be on the scoresheet, but all are undoubtedly not able to start to play for an hour, recognized Julien Arias in
La Dépêche
.
The priority is to take as few risks as possible. ”
Under these conditions, the result of the match can only be secondary.
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