"Watch our progress"

The spectators of the training of this Thursday saw a session a little complicated by the rain...

"It's been 15 days, 3 weeks, hot, high temperatures. Organisms are suffering. It is difficult. It's hard to get quality in that weather, because we really practiced under waterspouts for an hour. But despite that, there was still quality. And, above all, it refreshes everyone a little. It feels good. »

Lyon were impressive against Oyonnax. How do you apprehend this opponent?

"I'm sure it'll be difficult. Lyon, he's still last season's semi-finalist. We must not forget that. Who still beat Toulon to qualify for the semi-finals. They're a great team, they have good players. It's a club that has been slowly evolving for 2, 3, 4 years. They have a big budget. This will be a test for us. But I think that, beyond the opponent, I think we have to look at the progress we will have compared to last weekend. We had a good first half. We had a bad second half. See a little how we evolve compared to what we work at training. I think it's good to focus on that too. Obviously, the opponent is important. We have to be vigilant, because it can go fast against teams like that. But first we'll look at the progress we've had in the week compared to the first game. »

Will the team that will line up on Friday be close to the team that will go to La Rochelle on August 25?

"We're gonna shoot. We'll bring 31 players. There will be two teams. Some need time to play. We also need to see more players. There will be more rotations for the last game. After that, the Top 14 championship is long. Unlike the Pro D2, where we played 4, 5 games and we had a week-long break, there is not one in the Top 14. From the moment we started friendly matches last week, we have to count them, they are still rugby matches, until the next truce, for us, it will be early November. It's a long way. It's important to get the players running now, to have them on the field, to take their bearings, but also not to shoot at them by making them play games of 60 or 80 minutes. »

Overall, how do you judge this preparation, which is coming to an end?

"It went well. There were no major injuries. We had a few glitches. I think the quality, over the last 15 days, could have been better than that. It's the beginning of the season, but it's also explained by the fact that it was very hot. We had practice at 2:00, 3:00. When it is 37 degrees, it is difficult for organisms. The quality could be a little better. But, overall, we made progress on what we wanted to work on. We still have 2, 3 little things to see before the end of the prep games. The goal is still to be ready for the first game. We'll see how we play this weekend, how we play for the Zebras, but I hope we'll be ready for the first league match. We'll be ready for that time. We're always less ready for the first game of the championship than for the fifth or sixth. But I think we'll still be ready for a good championship match at La Rochelle. »