“How are you approaching this end of the season?
We are maintained, we can no longer qualify (in final phase). So above all we have to have fun again together in these last two matches and play for those who leave, give them the best outing even if it’s a difficult phase for us. We feel a team that is not confident, it is difficult to let go, we have seen it all season. There were ups and downs, it was a complicated season, but it will help us for the future, we learn.
Since you arrived in Montpellier (in 2020), you have known everything here…
It’s part of Montpellier (laughs). I feel like living five years in one season here (laughs). There’s a lot going on every time.
Is it weird to play two matches without any particular stake?
Yes, it’s weird, especially when you’re having a bad time. But we still have this European Cup to get (the first 8 places qualify for the Champions Cup), it’s not nothing for next season if we have ambitions. We have to challenge ourselves on this and at least finish in the eight.
“We have the right to lose but not to miss out on the state of mind, the commitment and the intensity”
Was the season more complicated than expected?
I did not expect such a complicated season. There have been too many missteps. We have the right to lose but not to miss out on the state of mind, the commitment and the intensity that we put in. We say a lot of things to each other during the week but we don’t implement it on Saturday. Missed pes, forwards, bad choices, it happens, but the commitment… That’s what hurts me the most today. We have fished a lot on that this season and that is not possible.
On a more personal note, the World Cup is approaching (September 8-October 28). Are you starting to think about it a bit more?
Of course I think about it. It’s the individual objective of each player in the Top 14. But I don’t focus on that either, otherwise it’s not the best way to prepare for my matches. The World Cup makes us all dream, we all want to play and take part in it. Of course it’s in the back of your mind.
Is there a form of impatience approaching the announcement of the list of 42 (announced on June 21)?
It’s a little stuffy in the head (laughs). Of course, we want to know quickly, but we have to be patient. We have never been so close to the event so we have to wait and above all we have to perform on the pitch to be taken. There are two matches left to do the maximum and then dream of doing great things and hope to be there. »