Crowned last week in the European Cup, Rochelais and Lyonnais compete this Sunday for a place in the final phase of the Top 14. It remains to be seen whether there will be decompression or excess motivation.
The party was not the same on the side of Lyon or La Rochelle. Barely crowned in the Challenge Cup against RC Toulon, the LOU quickly switched to the 26th and last day where it has no choice: Pierre Mignoni’s players are currently eighth in the championship (three points from 6th place) and must impose themselves with the offensive bonus in Gerland against the Maritimes if they want to participate in the final banquet of the Top 14. A page will turn with the departure of Pierre Mignoni for the RCT but Lyon wants to end on a good note. No long festivities therefore, the group is focused on this final day and believes in the exploit against La Rochelle.
“Pierre’s seven years of work have been justly rewarded by the conquest of the Challenge Cup, greeted Rhone President Yann Roubert in the columns of the Progress. But this title is not an end in itself for the LOU. I hope we will continue our season by qualifying on Sunday evening. Ambitions confirmed by Pierre Mignoni: “This group does not want to stop on Sunday.
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Opposite, change of atmosphere in the Maritimes who have long celebrated their first title in the Champions Cup. Until Wednesday … Before switching back to the championship. “The year is not over: we resumed quiet this Wednesday morning: a bit of cycling, games… Just to sweat a little, to recover. There are only a few days before Lyon, you have to switch“, entrusted the international pillar Uini Atonio to theAFP.
Grégory Alldritt, who admits that he “don’t know if it’s going to be easy” to remobilize, does not intend to give up in Top 14. “One thing is certain, we are not going to change because we have a star on the jersey. We are a group with a lot of humility. We will go back to work and we will work even harder to always want more. We are not going to satisfy ourselves and take ourselves for others because we have a star.
The physical freshness of Lyon
The tough battle against Leinster has surely left its mark. It remains to be seen whether the Rochelais will have evacuated. Decompression or over-motivation? Grégory Alldritt continues: “Of course the Top 14 is now the goal. It’s going to be very hard. The road will be complicated. But we are determined to go and play a big game in Lyon to start with. Opposite, the Rhone club had displayed a beautiful physical freshness against Toulon, imposing a hellish pace on Charles Ollivon’s teammates.
The LOU obviously hopes to ride on this great momentum. “If the players remain themselves and give themselves 100%, they are capable of knocking down mountains and beating any team, as they demonstrated in Marseille. insists Yann Roubert, the president of Lyon. I have no doubt about the state of mind of the group. I just hope the bodies follow. But our adversaries are in the same situation. So, yes, I believe in it! Unhappy semi-finalist in 2018 and 2019, the LOU does not want to remain docked once again in the Top 14.