Rugby (Federal 2): ​​Bergerac two matches away from promotion

The Bergeracois will play the first leg of the last 16 on Sunday, May 25th on the Casteljaloux pitch.

Union Sportive Bergeracoise will play the first leg of the round of 16 of the French championship on Sunday, May 25th in Casteljaloux. The return match will take place on Sunday, June 1st on the Gaston-Simounet pitch. This short trip will have a big sporting stake: the winning team after both matches will advance to the Federal 1.

On Sunday 18th, against Aramits , the Bergerac XV showed its advantage. Good in the conquest phases, dominating in touch as in closed scrum, the black and white produced a lot of play. As evidenced by the five tries scored against the Béarnais.

Extremely united, Lajonie and his teammates were also very present defensively. Present, but heavily penalized. "We are satisfied with this match, both in terms of our spirit and our commitment. Aramits plays to these values; we had to be at our best," said co-coach Renaud Delmas. "They're a team with a lot of quality; it was a tough match."

“In rugby, you have to be a warrior, while remaining intelligent and disciplined.”

Satisfied with the offensive output, Delmas also noted the defensive phases. "We put in a high level of commitment," says the coach, who nevertheless counted 24 penalties whistled against his team, "the perverse side of our investment. In rugby, you have to be a warrior, while remaining intelligent and disciplined." It's on these details that allow us to avoid making mistakes that the group has been working this week. "We're not inventing anything new, we're fine-tuning the system, both offensively and defensively," summarizes Delmas.

Another factor Escudier and Delmas must take into account is the players' physical condition. Having been on the pitch for nearly ten months, they will be playing their 25th match at Casteljaloux. Several are uncertain. "The season is long," admits Renaud Delmas, "it doesn't come without a few injuries. We're lightening the workload a little by favoring short but intense training sessions."

Bergerac will have the slight advantage of being home in the return leg. This is a theoretical advantage, as the reality on the pitch is quite different, especially since many Lot-et-Garonne fans will likely be making the short trip in eight days. Of course, Casteljaloux's presence at this stage of the competition is no accident.

They qualified from an extremely tough Group 6. Delmas cites the level of play put forward by Aramits as proof. He highlights the feat achieved by the Casteljalousains in the round of 32: they eliminated an ambitious Soustons team, who were the favorites after finishing first in this group.

"This clearly shows that they have resources," remarks Delmas. "It's up to us not to do worse than we did against Béarn. If we're lucky enough to win this double-header, we'll be promoted. Then we'll ask ourselves the right questions. But we're not there yet!"