Duane Vermeulen: "It's like being in a tight race"

The Toulon flanker attended the pre-game press conference ahead of Racing 92 v. Toulon, last Thursday afternoon. He came back on last week’s frustrating defeat against Munster and called for general mobilization for the end of the season, which promises to be a thrilling one.
Duane, how did you cope with the defeat against Munster?
We were really in control. But, in those play-off games, anything can happen. We must learn from this and make good use of our experience ahead of the next Top 14 games.
Do you really think about winning a title this year?
Absolutely. I’d like to end on a high note. The Top 14 is up for grabs and I’d like to win it. We must take our chance and go into the final. I’ll give my very best for the team and I’ll fight until the end. There are two months left. Now, it’s like being in a tight race. We have four games to play against four of our direct rivals for the top six spots. We can either complain or look forward and stick together, to reach our goal. The forthcoming games will be tense ones and we’ll start against Racing 92.
You missed the 2016 final against Racing 92 and the game they won at the Stade Mayol, early in the season (Day 10, 29-40). Will Sunday’s game be a particular one for you?
It will. I’m looking forward to this game! Racing are a high-level team with great players and we’ll need to give everything we have, if we want to earn a good result there.
Photo credits: Magali Ruffato.