After the last preparation match against Provence Rugby, Dewald Senekal highlighted the progress made by his team, but also that there was still work to do
What is your feeling at the end of the match?
"I want to thank the team from Provence, Patrick Pezery and his team. And I want to congratulate them too. It was just the kind of game we needed. We would not have learned anything tonight by winning with a big margin. They have caused us a lot of problems in combativity. And this is one of the key ingredients of Pro D2. We are aware of that. It was very good for us to finish this block of work with this kind of game. "
The preparation is coming to an end. It went well?
"I think so, already looking at our record of injuries. We did not have too many injuries in this physical preparation or in the friendly matches. For us it is satisfactory. We also saw with our players that we finished pretty well the game, although there have been many changes on all 3 games. Now, everyone is eager to get down to serious stuff and attack this championship. "
And are you ready for this championship?
"As a coach, I think we will never be ready. Time is always something very important to us. We would like to cover everything but this is never the case, especially in France, where the pre-seasons are rather short. There is work, we are aware of this. We will attack this championship with great humility, we want to remain humble. We will take every game, we will respect each opponent. We still have work, for sure! "
Three tries on the mauls in Oyonnax, two scored against Provence. Is that a difference?
"It's not trivial. Before the Oyonnax match, we spent a lot of time setting up our new key system, which is still running, we saw it tonight. In the first half, there were misfires. Before the match in Oyonnax, the mauls were not much worked. This week, after Oyonnax, we put a lot more emphasis on it. This is one of the satisfying points tonight. We have better defended the mauls, better defended the keys in the air. Our offensive mauls have been more effective. That was the focus of last week. We will be entitled to many in Pro D2, it will have to be performing. "
There is still progress to make in lines outs...
"What is positive for our work in lines out is that it is our faults, our small inaccuracies in communication, and non-compliance with protocols. Things not too difficult to correct! "
Auteur : FCG Rugby