On Sunday afternoon, while his team is playing in the 32nd finals of the French Regional 1 championship against RC Libourne, Benoit Mazet, co-coach in charge of the backlines, shares his impressions. For the 32nd finals of the French Regional 1 rugby championship, we met Benoit Mazet, coach of RCBBV. He is in charge of the backlines. After the match against Olonzac, RCBBV immediately tried to strengthen the group’s bonds, to think about something other than rugby, and gradually mobilized the players for this final opportunity of the season. Benoit, how did the group handle this frustrating defeat in the Occitanie championship semi-final? The toughest part for the group was not the defeat against Olonzac, who is a strong team. The situation could have gone our way, but it didn’t. What was difficult to accept was that there were three teams vying for two spots in the Federal 3 league. We knew there would be a “scapegoat.” Considering that we were in a good position (best 2nd in the Occitanie league), nobody imagined that we would be the ones punished… It was truly a difficult moment. Was the mini break consecutive to the elimination beneficial, and do you sense the group being motivated by something special to achieve something in this final part of the season? The mini break allowed the players to take a break from rugby, after a long and tough season. The Occitanie championship is long, with a strange schedule: we play on December 21st and January 11th, and we have two weekends off smack in the middle of May, where the weather is much more pleasant for playing this sport. “They will give everything, we have no doubt about it.” We had a full week off before getting back into physical training and preparing well for this French championship. The players are motivated, even though the turnout has been lower due to extended weekends. The advantage with this group is that the players absorb a lot, and as soon as they are together, they are enthusiastic. They are a real group of friends. So, as for achieving something, they will give everything, we have no doubt about it. What are you expecting from the Rugby Club Libournais, and if you compare their style to a team you’ve already played, which team would it be? We expect a strong team, which finished second in their pool with only five defeats. In the 32nd finals of the French championship, there are no weak teams anyway, given the difficulty in qualifying. As for similarities with a team we’ve played before, it’s hard to say since we have very little information about this team. Without judging the result of this 32nd final, how would you analyze the bracket in which RCBBV finds itself? The bracket is quite tough starting with Nouvelle-Aquitaine, which has a very good level of rugby, as well as Occitanie. The second round would also be complex since it would also be from Occitanie or Nouvelle-Aquitaine if Sunday’s result is positive. We are not looking beyond that at the moment. We know that in the finals, predictions are often overturned, so there’s no point in projecting too far ahead.
