the essentials Back in Rodez, his training club, this summer, the 3rd or 2nd row Cédric Lallour is the only player in the blood and gold squad to have started all the matches. When it’s time to challenge leader Sor Agout, from 3:15 p.m. in Paul-Lignon, the captain reveals the secrets of the renewal of his team (current 5th) at the same time as their short and medium term ambitions. Interview.
You find Sor Agout, the leader this Sunday. And despite a 24-23 setback in mid-December in the first leg, something clicked in this match for you. So, how do you approach this reception?
We expect a big fight. It is a very valiant, organized and clever team. We prepare accordingly. We placed the emphasis on defense and we intend to respond with a game of conquest.
Tell us more regarding what happened on the way out.
We were not going through an easy period. It was our third defeat in a row. But we wanted to show good things. I think that when we found ourselves facing this team, which has a forward game, we expected to be shaken up a lot. And that brought us together. We committed well, we were keen to show good things, especially in defense. It allowed us to see that we might compete with the top teams. Because not everyone will have lost by just one point at Sor Agout or Léguevin (last match, played 15 days ago, 16-15).
Since this first leg, there have been four matches for three successes and this short setback for the runner-up Léguevin. Concretely, what has changed in the team?
State of mind. More commitment to the collective. We needed to have our backs once morest the wall so that the sauce would take hold between the players. This match at Sor Agout allowed us to become closer, to ensure the links between my generation, the 1995-96, and the younger ones, 2002-03-04. And we were able, first of all, to show that we might trust each other and that if we respected the game plan, we might do great things. And then committing to each other through this big defense, allowing us to be better since that match, there is no photo.
So this Sunday is the opportunity to validate all of this. To certify it by bringing down the leader at Paul-Lignon?
To bring down the leader at Paul-Lignon, we can just say it at 5 p.m. We must approach this match with humility. It’s a goal, we prepare accordingly. It’s up to us to show that rugby in Rodez is also a combat sport and respond to this challenge.
Ultimately, your season has two faces: with an accounting delay in the first part and better followingwards. So, today, with four matches remaining in the regular season, you are 5th. What objective have you set among yourselves in the group?
We are aiming for qualification (the 4th is a jump-off). Afterwards, we will try to find the best place within this group. We hope to be able to grab 2nd, knowing that Léguevin took a small advantage with the victory a fortnight ago. Now, we don’t despair. We want the qualification, we will go for it, we give ourselves the means. But the objective is already to win once morest Sor Agout, then in style, and finally to tackle the matches one following the other to finish on top.
More personally, you are the only player on the squad to have started every match this season. How has your return to the club been going since this summer?
Alright. I am from Ruthenia, I started as a cadet in Rodez, a little late, but our whole generation has followed each other since those years. So strictly speaking there was no adaptation to the group. The challenge we had, however, was being able to attract the young people. But it’s going really well. Afterwards, sportingly, I am used to playing one match following another (laughs). Last year at LSA, I played 80-minute matches almost the entire season. It’s in my habits, I’m like that, I don’t give up, I expend a lot of energy on the field on Sunday. It is also my role in setting an example, to keep going, to not give up.
Since this summer, we have seen you in the 2nd row, but also No. 7 or No. 8 as announced this Sunday. Your preference ?
No. 8. The position that allows me to take a step back from the game, otherwise I will always be on the defensive line having this riot of energy wanting to defend and play the ball constantly. Afterwards, I think above all regarding the collective and I always make myself available to coaches or friends, it never poses a problem for me to switch to the 2nd line or to the 3rd wing.
You said it: you started in Rodez, you left, then returned this summer. You who knew Rodez higher up, in Fédérale 1, do you have a longer term objective in mind… for example to bring the club back to where you knew it?
Yes, I personally have it in the back of my mind. First move up to Federal 2, then, over two or three years, at least to Federal 1, that would be great for the city of Rodez and rugby in Aveyron in general. But you also have to be realistic. To date, we have seven defeats and seven victories. I am optimistic for the rest of the season regarding qualification. But with regard to a rise to Federal 2, that would be a bit pretentious. I prefer to remain humble with the qualification and we are not immune to a pleasant surprise at the end of the season.
