Geoffrey Palis, the boss of Castres Olympique, is approaching the 20th day of Top 14 against Montauban this Saturday, March 28 (4:35 pm) with the desire to restore the reputation of CO. Between discipline to be regained and European ambition, the group wants to rely on the support of the Pierre-Fabre stadium to revive its momentum.
After three defeats, what is the group’s state of mind? Naturally, the group is affected. We do not prepare for matches to lose, so it is always complicated. After that, it is up to us to reverse the trend as soon as possible. I think we need to refocus on our performance, from an individual and collective point of view. This is what we lacked at Racing, we faltered individually. It is up to us to really raise the bar on Saturday, and I think the collective will be much better.
At the first leg, Montalban players had almost equalized. How to avoid lapses and hold for 80 minutes? We realize that often our discipline puts us in difficulty at times. It’s especially the chaining of faults that can make us struggle. There are always strong and weak times 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 let the ball go quickly as we did against Racing. We also have to give our all. When we go on the field, we all need to endure a little pain, even if it’s tough.
Is the top 6 still possible? Yes, it is possible. However, there should not be many mistakes. Beyond 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, great 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 is up to us to do what is necessary.
Playing at Pierre-Fabre in this context, is it pressure or an advantage? I hope we don’t feel it as pressure. It is still a luxury to be able to play at home, in front of our audience. It is up to us to realize what it should entail and to try to make the Castres public a little proud of us, which has not been the case lately.
