The boss of Castres Olympique, Geoffrey Palis, is approaching the 20th day of the Top 14 against Montauban this Saturday, March 28th (4:35 pm) with the desire to restore the CO’s reputation. Between discipline, finding form, and European ambition, the group wants to rely on the support of the Pierre-Fabre stadium to restart its momentum.
After three defeats, what is the group’s state of mind? Certainly, the group is affected. We don’t prepare for matches to lose, so it’s always complicated. Afterwards, it’s up to us to reverse the trend as soon as possible. I think we need to refocus on our performance, both individually and collectively. That’s what we lacked at Racing, we faltered individually. It’s up to us to really raise the bar on Saturday, and I think the collective will be much better.
At the first leg, Montalbanais had almost caught up. How to avoid lapses and hold out for 80 minutes? We realize that often our discipline puts us in a difficult position. It’s especially the sequence of mistakes that can put us in difficulty. There are always strong and weak moments in a match, it’s rare for a team to be linear from start to finish. But we need to try to limit that. We can’t give away fast balls like we did against the Racing. We also have to leave everything on the field. When we go on the field, we all have to endure a little pain, even if it’s tough.
Is the top 6 still possible? Yes, it’s possible. However, we can’t make many mistakes. Apart from the top 6, there is also a top 8 to aim for and a European Cup. We are in the round of 16 next week against Northampton. These are incredible matches, good moments to experience. If we want to experience them again next year, it would be a shame to miss out. The goals are there, it’s up to us to do what’s necessary.
Playing at Pierre-Fabre in this context, is it pressure or an advantage? I hope we don’t feel it as pressure. It’s still a luxury to be able to play at home, in front of our fans. It’s up to us to realize what that should entail and try to make the Castres public a little proud of us, which hasn’t been the case in recent times.
