Everyone has their pet peeve.
For Union Bordeaux-Bègles, second in the Top 14 ranking, it's La Rochelle.
The Maritimes remain in effect on three wins in a row against the Girondins.
With, each time, a very salty addition: 20-6 to Marcel-Deflandre in November 2020, an 11-26 loss to Chaban in March 2021 and a new slap 26-3 this season in La Rochelle.
Christophe Urios, the Bordeaux manager, hasn't forgotten anything: “
When they came to Chaban last year, they crushed us.
When we went there in November they crushed us.
They are preparing on the notion of rivalry, and we, I have the impression that it is a match like any other.
»
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No derby in the minds of UBB players, therefore, when returning to Stade Rochelais.
Which disappoints Christophe Urios.
“The derby that makes sense is that of La Rochelle,
he insisted at a press conference.
The same region, the rivalry, the same territory, two high ranking teams, young people who work well.
La Rochelle is our best enemy.
I do not know the story well but we need to change at this level.
Read alsoA day in the footsteps of Laurent Travers, the hyperactive manager of Racing 92
Bordeaux-Bègles, who are at the forefront this season in the Top 14, succeeded last weekend in stopping their series of five defeats in a row, winning in the style of Jean-Bouin against Stade Français Paris ( 18-31).
Regularly competing with the big teams (Toulouse, Racing 92, Castres).
But stumbling over the brazen pack and the iron defense of the Rochelais.
For Urios, "
there are common points
" in the three defeats in a row against the Maritimes: "
We have never been up to it, physically, in the commitment, we have not been able to find the keys, we played poorly tactically.
There are things to note.
»
Opposite, Grégory Alldritt and his teammates arrive sure of their strength.
They come out of a landslide victory against Racing 92 (19-0), their third success in four games after experiencing an air hole at the start of the year (three defeats in a row).
“
We were able to hurt ourselves in defense
(against Racing)
and do it collectively.
We were able to find pleasure in the effort
”, had greeted the international rear Brice Dulin.
Nobody wants to play at Matmut, it pisses everyone off, but I think we had to play at Matmut.
To change the scenery
Christopher Urios
And, luck of the calendar, Girondins and Maritimes will - like Racing 92 and Stade Français Paris - meet three times in as many weeks.
This weekend in the Top 14, then in the unprecedented Round of 16 round trip in the Champions Cup.
A triptych that we prepare in a different way?
"
Honestly, I've been asking myself the question for a while: I don't know at all how we're going to do it
," admitted Bordeaux third-line Mahamadou Diaby bluntly.
It's so out of the ordinary, so weird... I don't know how we're going to approach it but I think the chef has already planned all that...
"
The chef, Christophe Urios does not particularly have the answer: "
If you know, you will tell me about it because I don't know...
" One thing is certain, the strong man of the UBB would have liked the second match, the round of 16 continental first leg, to be relocated to Matmut Atlantique, just to get a change of scenery and break the routine.
This will not be the case.
“Nobody wants to play at Matmut, it pisses everyone off, but I think we had to play at Matmut.
To change the scenery,”
he said.
It's weird.
It's unheard of... In any case, I've never played the same team three times in a row
Uini Atonio
On the La Rochelle side, we are also sailing on sight about this triple confrontation.
What Uini Atonio confirmed to AFP: “
It's weird.
It's unheard of, except when you go on tour in the southern hemisphere with your national team.
In any case, I have never played the same team three times in a row.
“And the right pillar of the XV of France to set the scene:”
The best way to approach it is to win first: afterwards, you have less pressure.
»
Thereupon, Christophe Urios joins him.
Start well to gain the upper hand.
The most important match,
“it's the first,
insists the Bordeaux manager.
Because I remain convinced that it will have an impact on the second which will also have an impact on the third.
Even if once again, it's not the same competition and we won't have the same approach.
In any case, the pressure is on the shoulders of the UBB which has no room for error at home.