Is there a big game waiting for the FCG tonight at the Stade des Alpes?
"Yes, the first against the second. The last game of the first leg. We're at home. There are indeed many things that make this a big rugby match. I think it will be. The conditions will be good. We're coming out of a bad performance in Biarritz. I think the players want a real buyout game. I think they're impatient. You'll have to be at a good level to beat them. It has to be. Because otherwise, it won't pass against a team like Oyonnax. Which is on a good dynamic. Who, before the defeat in Aurillac, had won 6 or 7 in a row. We know what to expect. »
Do you expect answers from your players?
"I've been coaching the team long enough to know what they're capable of. Especially at home, on important games like this one. After that, compared to the Biarritz match, there is no comparison possible. Because the Biarritz game was a non-match. It wasn't really a rugby match. Despite that, we still missed it. I think they're looking forward to it. They are eager to make up for what happened last Thursday. And then look forward to being there too because, once again, Oyonnax, they are the first hens at the moment. This is the opportunity to take them back into the ranking. To come back to their height. All this makes me think the boys are going to be ready. »
Will it be a stylistic opposition?
"They have a style that is not especially like ours, indeed. They have a different style. But then, in their style, they do it well. It's a team that's effective at what they do. We know what to expect. But, once again, we must also focus on ourselves. We also need to get to our best level with our system. We also have to think about that. Not just to the Oyonnax team. »
Wouldn't spending Christmas at the top of the championship be a bad thing?
"That's the icing on the cake, indeed. After that, I think we can also have three teams tied. If I have seen the ranking correctly, between Perpignan, Oyonnax and us. The ranking, if you're first, is good. The important thing is to win this game. Anyway. If we don't manage to take a victory, then, inevitably, after that, at the level of the ranking, we will slowly slide towards third, fourth and fifth place. After that, we'll have a very difficult January block. We also have to think about what happens next. The Oyonnax match, he has a double challenge: victory, but, above all, not to be ranked. »
With Oyonnax, a new rivalry is being built?
"Yes, for the 2019-2020 season, it will be a rivalry. With Perpignan, indeed. Because we're at the top of the table. So do they. I think they want to get into the first two places. Like us. There will not be room for everyone. So, indeed, it will be a rivalry until the end of this season, of course. »
No more rivalry since the 2018 Top 14 Access Match?
"I think time has passed a little bit anyway. I didn't look, quite honestly, at the team line-ups that were there, but the teams moved a lot. We don't have many players left in the team who were on that play-off game. Maybe they have a little more. But no, for us, it's behind us. It was another context. Another time of the season. I'm telling you, we have to take it to get back with them at the top of the table. And then there you go, having a good holiday. And then switch back to January with other objectives. »
Auteur : FCG Rugby