It was enough to see the smiles of Sacha Elissalde, 18, Gabin Garault and Diego Jurd, 19, but also Ihaia West, 34, or Jack Nowell, outside the group, to be convinced. The Rochelais did not save their season on Saturday, even though they are two victories away from a Challenge Cup final – they will play their quarter this Friday in Belfast, against Ulster, 3rd in the URC ahead of Leinster – but, in a 2025-2026 exercise weighed down by injuries and defeats, they offered “A magnificent showcase for the club”, “a good image”, knows Romain Carmignani.
The Édouard Richer symbol
“We saw these young people against the Stormers (42-21 defeat on December 13, Editor’s note), four months later, there is a good margin for progress since we manage to win, explains the defense coach. We are proud of that, they worked and they are rewarded. I’m not surprised, between the signals sent and the feeling we have that the group is living well. There is good chemistry between the guys, a desire to fight hard for the end of the season.”
“70% of the players come from the training center, this shows that the club is working.â€
“It was very far from being perfect but with the state of mind and the desire we had, we made up for it,” adds Thomas Berjon. We are very happy, the young people responded well, responded presently in the commitment, as I had asked them. We made the match complicated, we would have blamed ourselves if we had lost, because there was a lot of space. This Challenge was not necessarily an objective but it was an opportunity to create a great story, we played it to the fullest. We’re going to go to Ireland with the same state of mind.”
And essentially the same group, since it has earned the right to continue this adventure, beyond unavailability and the need to preserve executives. Especially since there is not yet enough to transform this qualification into a turning point for the end of the season, it is a nice adrenaline rush for players symbolized by the performance of the front five, of course, but also of the 3rd row, Édouard Richer at the head. A flanker upset by injuries, very little aligned and who, before playing in Narbonne (National) with Simon Huchet next season, showed total investment.
At a test of a quarter in Deflandre
“I am proud to represent this team this evening,” breathes captain Thomas Berjon. 70% of the players (16 out of 23, Editor’s note) come from the training center, this shows that the club is working. We got paid tonight. The young people had a great match, it will bring some excitement back to training and bring us for the end of the season. » With already a quarter to play in Belfast, against a solid Northern Irish team.
