Fabrice Landreau: "Congratulations to the players"
The RCT forwards coach made a quick stop in the press room after victory against La Rochelle, last Saturday, on Day 6 of the Top 14.
Fabrice, you must feel quite relieved after a difficult end to the game…
The last twenty-five minutes were a hard fight, we couldn’t open up a substantial lead when they were down to fourteen men and, towards the end, we felt the players were tired. So, we lacked accuracy and La Rochelle fought back at the same time. Our team didn’t play the kind of rugby they’re used to and they had to prevent La Rochelle from scoring. It was more complicated. But the team showed character and defended well: so, I have to congratulate the players.
The victory confirms RCT’s form at the beginning of the season, all the more so as we’ve already met some big shots in the league.
True! La Rochelle play beautiful rugby. Don’t forget they could have scored two tries in the early part of the game. So far, we’ve played against the top teams in the league. La Rochelle are having a good spell, they score about fifty points against every team; so, we’re very satisfied with the result, even if the victory wasn’t a spectacular one. The most important is that our team didn’t fall apart. We managed to keep the score as it was and hold on to our narrow six-point lead. Looking at the figures, it was quite a lucky escape.
Is there any room for improvement?
The various moves depend on the way we grab the ball. In the game, we wasted too many balls, particularly in the line-outs. We must continue our work in this sector. The scrum has really delivered – it has always been the case since the beginning of the season, except for one game. Sometimes, we’re quite impatient, but we’re playing against well-organised teams like La Rochelle and victory can only come as a satisfaction.