Patrice Collazo did not mince his words after the slap received Sunday evening by his team on the lawn of La Rochelle (33-6) at the end of the 9th day of Top 14. The Racing 92 coach simply believes that the Rochelais were superior to his players, particularly in the first half.
There are defeats that anger coaches, and some that drive them crazy. The slap received by Racing 92 in La Rochelle (33-6), Sunday in the last match on the program for the 9th day, is part of the second category. It was indeed a very angry Patrice Collazo who came to recognize after his team’s rout how difficult it was for him to digest having seen his players suffer so much from the domination of the Rochelais during this meeting, and in particular after the break.
“We’re not going to spend two hours there. We lacked precision in the first half. From there, we came across a super aggressive defense. They manage to generate a lot of energy, to connect with the public. We can’t get our hands on the ball, we push forward a lot, we don’t have fast enough rucks and that means we’re hitting the wall, even if at times we’re moving forward,” complains the Racing 92 coach, who notably deplored it to the press during these comments relayed by
Olympic Midday the “lack of collective experience” as well as the connection of its formation.
Collazo: “The first match where there is no progression”
“Facing guys who play together – you take the hinge, you take the pack of forwards – there is a collective, there is a collective experience that cannot be bought. We don’t have it. As soon as we fail to generate positive collective energy, things can quickly go wrong, it can quickly become sluggish. And it especially turns against us. »The analysis of the former Montpellier manager is cold. For the Varois, the Racingmen cannot currently compete with certain opponents, of which La Rochelle is one. “Against teams who are in place, like La Rochelle, who are dense, who scrap, who are solid on the bases, we cannot hope for more. »
Paradoxically, however, this would almost reassure Collazo who believes that this match will be a landmark. “This is the first match where there is no progression. In all the matches we played, there was always progression. And tonight, there is none. There is none because La Rochelle was superior to us, above all. » Let’s hope for the technician that he will not have to make the same observation on November 22 after the arrival of Bayonne.
