Sylvain Begon: "We have to be more clinical throughout the game"

How does the coach judge this game?

"Already, the coach, he is exhausted, like the players, like the whole staff. We made it difficult again tonight. That's it, a difficult start. Two balls lost in touch. And we find ourselves behind the line. Leading 7-0. For a team that's lacking confidence, it's complicated to attack like that. Fortunately, the boys didn't let up. I think we came back little by little in this game. We scored two good tries that put us back in the game. And then, finally, we find ourselves at 21-7. We think we did the hardest part. And then, there, re-hole of air. We do not manage to leave our camp, we get back in difficulty. We lose the wire a little bit. And then, the end that you know, where we are afraid until the end. We see that we still have a lot of progress to make. A lot of work in front of us. But, well, the main thing tonight is that we have the 4 points. Because there is, at one moment in this game, we strongly doubted our victory. "

This end of the game is similar to the one experienced against Valence-Romans?

"Yes, it's a little bit like that. Today, we are seeing progress in certain areas. And then, in the same game... I see, in the first half, we have a good quality footwork. We manage to get out of our camp easily. We manage to put them under pressure. That goes rather well. And then, in the second half, for reasons that are hard to explain, we have a bit of the footwork, direct hits, which keep us in our camp and put us under pressure. That's one example among many. We have a touchdown that worked pretty well, except that we lose the first two balls, which bring the first try. We have to work, the players have to gain confidence in what they're doing. We train pretty well. Today, we can't be consistent from the first minute to the eightieth minute. That means we still have some work ahead of us. The boys aren't complaining, that's a good thing. They are working. We still have a defence that's holding up. Boys who are very committed, who are in solidarity. That's also why we won this game. That's the positive side. Now, we absolutely need to improve our control and precision if we want to play the leading roles in this championship. "

Does this victory reassure you or worry you?

"No, it does us good, already. The 4 points, tonight... If we had taken 2 or 0, it would have been a little more complicated. It does not reassure us. She also shows us that we are on the right track. When I look back a little bit at the content of our games a few weeks ago, I think that they were not as good as tonight's game. Now we still don't understand why we have air holes like that. Why we make stupid mistakes. That's what we have to erase. But, again, we're not going to blame them. There's really a lot of energy. When we put energy, when we want to move forward, we're going to get there. I'm convinced that we're going to make it. "

How did you approach this game behind closed doors?

"It's our third game of the season. Two in the championship. It's tough. It's tough. I was talking earlier to your colleagues. Saying that Vannes didn't go through that. So we're happy to play, but playing in a cathedral like that is really disturbing. That's not why we would be better on the field. But it's really a special atmosphere. It's really special. We arrive by car. We leave all alone. It is very particular. I hope that we are going to get out of it quickly. But, I believe that everyone makes the same wish as me. For the moment, we try to do our work as best we can. Then, winning games to warm the hearts of our supporters a little bit. Who are, I'm sure, in front of the TV. Who were happy with the 4 points. And who see the same things we do. A team that fights, but still has doubts and struggles to have a linear, qualitative game. We are working on it. "

It's important to be able to continue playing and training?

"Yes, of course. Because we spent a few weeks or even months at home. And it wasn't easy to live with, frankly. You can't imagine a break. Afterwards, we don't know how it's going to be. Especially economically. Afterwards, it's up to the managers to decide. It is clear that rugby is in difficulty. That sport in general is in difficulty. The most important thing for us is that we continue to practice our profession with enthusiasm, desire and pleasure. This is our daily training routine. Frankly, we are having a good few weeks. Now, we hope it will last. And that we'll get back to normal quickly. "

Without a win since the beginning of the season, Soyaux-Angoulême looks like the ideal opponent for FCG to win its first away game?

"The task will also be very difficult. This is a team that is going to play a very important game, for different reasons. But it's not that far away. They still had a good game in Montauban. I watch the games in Angoulême. Today, they have the coin that does not fall on the right side. They are a little bit in the hard, like us. It's going to be a tough game. Moving around is always a bit complicated. Finding a hotel, catering. It's a long trip. I hope we won't make the trip empty. Obviously, we are going to do everything to impose ourselves in Angoulême. But I think that we will be awaited. I think that this team of Angoulême has values, virtues. It will be a very difficult game. And we will have to really master our subject if we want to win. "

Wouldn't the necessary trigger come through a chain of victories?

"Yes, it also shows the difficulties of this championship. I mainly watch our own games. I still see Nevers' defeat at home. It is almost inexplicable. Even if Vannes has good games. We see that it is difficult for everyone. For everyone, except for a few teams that have really taken the lead and are on a good dynamic. We can see that this championship is difficult. It is more and more homogeneous. We have difficulties to beat everyone and I hope that everyone will have difficulties to beat us. We must keep this state of mind, continue to work. And then, at some point, I think it's going to happen. Today, we can see that it's not going to be a big deal. At 21-7, we're convinced that if we manage to get out of the camp, maybe we'll score three points. It's not a big deal. And unfortunately, for the moment, we can't make the switch in that direction. Patience and hard work. And, once again, we have to remain optimistic and serious, and I think we will be rewarded quickly. "

What can Jim Nagusa and Jean-Charles Orioli bring to the team?

"Already, we're going to let them arrive. They will have to get back into shape. Because they are boys who haven't played for a long time. For different reasons. The Covid, in particular. No club. They've been training on their own. But we know that it doesn't come back like that. The boys need to get back to the collective. That they train on a regular basis. To be able to get back on the field, already. That's the first thing. The second thing is two experienced players. They will only bring us if they are at their best physical level. So we're going to give them time to settle in. Today, we have a lot of people. We have boys who are working and have been working since the beginning of the season. We will continue to rely on them. And then we hope that they will be able to join us quickly and bring us their experience. It is boys who return in the group because we have an injured person, in particular, Laurent Bouchet. Who is an experienced player, who unfortunately got injured and who will be absent from the fields for 3 months. We hope that Jean-Charles will bring us his experience. And then, Jim Nagusa, I don't know him, not much anyway. I know him for his qualities as a player. We know that he can be an extraordinary player. We just wish him to be in shape and to shine on the fields with the FCG jersey. "