How are you approaching this new season with Racing 92?
Wenceslas Lauret:
We are approaching it rather calmly, we have prepared well, even if there are areas for improvement.
We missed out on our second preparation match (
20-15 defeat against Brive
).
The most important thing is to be ready for our first match against Castres (
Saturday at 3 p.m., at the start of the 1st day of the Top 14
).
To discover
Schedule and Top 14 results
Ranking Top 14
What was wrong with Racing last season?
We had consistency issues.
We've seen it all season.
Suddenly, we were in the six, suddenly, we were outside.
We saw it on the matches too: suddenly we started well, we were ahead in the score, and in the second half it was the opposite.
This inconstancy meant that we could not be at the top of the basket.
Top 14 Jerseys
Go to slideshow (14)
It's a recurring problem for Racing in recent seasons...
We're working on it with the staff, but the players are also responsible.
If the player isn't consistent off the pitch, he can't be on the pitch.
It also involves discipline.
We were a team penalized a lot last season.
The more disciplined we are, the more consistent we will be.
Racing is capable of brilliant performances and others completely missed...
It's like the quarter-final against Bordeaux (
in the Champions Cup
).
We have a first half where we are really there, we tell ourselves that nothing can happen to us even if the score is tight.
And, in the second half, we completely thwarted, we exploded, we were no longer in it... It's a mental, disciplinary problem.
If we manage to erase all that, we can be among the best.
What are Racing's goals this season?
There are two tables.
There is the goal that everyone dreams of: to be champions of France or Europe.
Then there are the actions, the tools that will allow us to achieve it.
In addition to discipline, there will be our attitude.
Racing is still well placed but...
Yes we are well placed, but towards the end we are starting to run out of steam.
We are good at the beginning and then we let ourselves be overwhelmed by all that.
And finally we are no longer in it.
Read alsoChampions Cup: Wenceslas Lauret, the handyman of Racing 92
The Racing title dates from 2016...
It's far, too far!
Racing has always been in the final phase since its rise to the Top 14. We have made three European Cup finals.
But finalist, it is not champion.
We only remember the regrets.
We should finally taste a European Cup title.
I think there is urgency to win a trophy.
President Jacky Lorenzetti puts a lot of resources into allowing us to evolve in good conditions.
We must honor everything he does.
By winning a title.
We should sometimes avoid lying to ourselves and face reality.
If you want something, you have to give yourself the means
Wenceslas Lauret
Do you players feel the pressure to win a title?
I would say there are synchronization issues.
For us to succeed, we need to be more synchronized between what we say and what we do;
between what we want and what is feasible.
We should sometimes avoid lying to ourselves and face reality.
If you want something, you have to give yourself the means.
That's how we'll get there.
Racing is often summarized with a young and promising pack and a three-quarter line qualified as Galacticos. How do you view this balance in your team?
Racing has suffered from the departure of experienced players (
after the 2016 title
).
We had to restructure, find leading players.
This foundation is not built overnight.
There is a period of adaptation, of reconstruction.
This learning took time.
Now we have learned.
From your first match, you will come up against Castres, a rough team...
We know their game: the physical challenge, the challenge in the rucks, in the conquest.
It's an aggressive team.
It will necessarily be a challenge to see if we have matured.
You are one of the experienced players on this team. What is your role within the group?
I invest a lot.
As a leader, I am a point of support for the youth, I try to support them, to help them so that they can feel reassured.
With my experience, I try to apply it in critical situations.
The World Cup, I think about it on TV yes!
(laughs) As a player, no, it's been a long time since I drew a line under it.
Wenceslas Lauret
You are under contract until the end of the season. At 33, have you decided on the rest of your career?
I don't know yet, that's a question.
I don't know how I will approach the rest of my contract.
Either I stop or I continue with the club for a short period.
Either I will switch to a last challenge abroad... Today, I leave myself all the possibilities.
Before I will take advantage of, perhaps, these last moments with my club...
At the end of the season, there will be the World Cup...
The World Cup, I'm thinking about it on TV yes!
(
laughs
) As a player, no, it's been a long time since I drew a line under it.
I remain their first supporter, I am very proud of them.
This restores the bad image of the France team that we had with the supporters.
Did you have the feeling of paying for the passage where you explained yourself with Fabien Galthié, which had been broadcast on TV?
Talking about that again would be embittered... I don't know, maybe you should ask him.
This passage contributed to what became the team of France.
It was a sacrifice, I would say...
(smile)