A success that was good for Racing 92. The Ile-de-France, who had so far won only one of their last eight matches, found their colors last Saturday by bringing down the ogre from La Rochelle (39-36) at the end of a crazy match, on the occasion of the 16th day of the Top 14.
“Our defense was not in place at all that weekend.
The focus was on this and also on discipline
, “warns Romain Sazy, the second line and captain of the Maritimes, revenge before facing Lyon, this Saturday (5 p.m.).
To discover
Schedule and Top 14 results
Ranking Top 14
Progress seen in January
“We attack all matches to win them.
We were on a series, small anyway
(four successes in all competitions, editor's note)
, but we wanted to make it last as long as possible.
The beginning of the week after a defeat is harder to negotiate than when you win.
Maybe people were happy with our performance, that the match was nice to watch, but we, in no case, were happy to watch it again.
This is another thing..."
The depth of the La Rochelle workforce
“From the start, we have been saying it.
This year, the sequence of matches is even more complicated.
It connects a lot.
You need depth and a locker room of forty guys.
The truth is there if you want to have it both ways, you need that.
And that everyone is concerned.”
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Injuries, returns: a pivotal period
“The period is quite complicated, there are a lot of injuries.
The bodies are starting to suffer a little in these months of January-February, which are never easy to negotiate.
There's quite a bit of back and forth between the infirmary and the field.
It's a pivotal period, you have to take the points.
It is certain that the return of a few players will do us good to switch to the good side.
His gaze on the LOU
“For a few outings, I find the Lyon players more dense in front.
Behind too.
Their system is working fine.
In view of the match against Clermont, it is clear that he is a serious competitor.
It's very tough.
It's up to us to put the barbed wire well, to have a good defensive system and to try to dominate this game.
(...) They have individualities.
But, with our players, we have a way of finding solutions against this team.
You're going to have to have a big defense.
Against Racing, we scored 36 away points.
I don't know many teams that lose this kind of match... It's very rare, but it happened to us.
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The final sprint is on
“This match is very important for the rest of the championship.
Everyone looked at the ranking.
Can't say it's not tight.
We announced it a few weeks ago: the championship is ultra competitive at the top.
There are maybe ten teams that are interested (
in the final stages
).
We could have taken more points last weekend.
We must use this frustration to play a full game this weekend.
Be dense in defense and have fun in attack.
We had won in Lyon, they will be revengeful.
We must immediately mark the occasion and make it clear to them that there will be no way out in Deflandre.
Two losses (
at home
) in the season, it's already too much to hope to get our goal.
The quota is already toast..."
Ronan O'Gara suspended again?
(
He blows
) “I saw that after the match against Racing.
It's starting to get a bit much.
Honestly, I don't know what he is accused of.
But I think he had been quite wise and disciplined lately... It would be nice to just give us back our coach.
(
Laughs
)
Statements taken at a press conference