First of all, I’d like to raise a big concern about the number of people turning up for the games of la 2 and the punctuality. Since the beginning of the season, we’ve been facing every weekend a sudden drop of people “supposedly available” at the last minute (quite often the morning of the game or no notice at all…) putting the team in a very difficult situation (low number + rubbish warm up as we’re chasing late guys). I’m not gonna Name & Shame but I keep in mind the names as I need to be able to rely on some individuals. My point being that if you don’t want to come or you’re not motivated, please don’t say you’re available! Playing in a team requires commitment…
Regarding the game, for which the above context applies, it could have been a great afternoon with a good French touring team (former team of Marc Romano) turning up in numbers and with big motivation. They were on the pitch far in advance and warmed up as if they were to fight. Completely the opposite of the London French.
Hence why, 1st half saw the Vrais Faux Rebonds running at our defence like hell, hitting us upfront with very oiled and structure moves and breaking the line 3 times for 3 tries. What I’d like to highlight is the way they were communicating a lot and clearly i.e. playing altogether. In the meantime, la 2 had few good reactions with mauling and lineouts which led us at 10m where Henri saw a free corridor and scored our very only try. Some missed tackles and poor kicking decisions allowed the tourists to score again. 5-24 at half time.
2nd half didn’t see any magic with the tourists still being threatening through their backs (some decent players) and keeping on fighting with forwards. They scored 2 more tries. Les Bleus however showed a little bit more fighting spirit and cohesion which brought missed opportunities and a better defensive behaviour. It was however not enough and it’s hardly possible to start playing after 40 mins.
The summary is a bit harsh but realistic. We can’t afford to play this way in the league or it will be a very long and painful season. We know we have abilities and willingness from time to time, now we need to be fully turned on and ready to fight. Saturday will be the opportunity to show some cojones…
MoM: Bachir Gabache, for some pretty decent breaks through the line (not leading to any try unfortunately)
DoD: Tangi Charlot, for not being able to insufflate fighting spirit to the team in the 1st half.
A special thank you to Vrais Faux Rebonds for a good game and a great evening at the Black Lion (new staff quite enjoyed the naked dancing…)
