Top 14: How Stade Français plans to save its place in the elite
DECRYPTION - The Parisian club travels this Saturday to a direct contender for survival, Perpignan. With four matches remaining in the regular season, the Pink Soldiers are trying to recover and avoid the worst.
Don't give in to vertigo, resist the pull of the void. Stade Français is sitting on the edge of the abyss as they go to challenge Perpignan this Saturday at Aimé-Giral . Both teams occupy 13th place, just one point ahead of the bottom team, promoted Vannes. A three-way battle to avoid finishing last (direct relegation) or second-to-last (play-off on the ground of the unfortunate Pro D2 finalist). To avoid the worst.
From the management to the supporters, including the staff, fear grips. What would the future of the Parisian club be if it were to leave the elite for the first time since its return to the top flight in 1997? Will the owner, Swiss-German businessman Hans Peter Wild, continue to keep the team on life support? Since the wealthy Capri-Sun boss took over Stade Français in 2017, he claims to have had to inject nearly 20 million euros per year. Without the slightest result. The hopes born of a semi-final last season were shattered during the long ordeal of the current season.
Rumors are circulating of a president who is tired, but also irritated. By the squabbles that have caused the staff to explode during the season: Karim Ghezal and then Laurent Labit were dismissed, the helm being entrusted to the Englishman Paul Gustard (who is reportedly dreaming of leaving for Leicester at the end of the season...). By players with double-speed motivation in a squad divided between the club's long-time players - who "do not want to be part of the first generation to take Stade Français down to Pro D2" - and the returning players, who are collecting their salaries and waiting for the verdict to sell their talent elsewhere (around fifteen are even said to be at the end of their contracts and the nugget Léo Barré has a departure clause in his in the event of relegation). In short, there is heeling at all levels, and the Parisian ship, in the midst of a storm, could sink body and soul.
Of course we didn't win away, but that doesn't mean it's going to be impossible. It will be a motivation for us to tell ourselves that we are capable of getting that away victory that would allow us to get our heads above water a little.
Sekou Macalou
Obviously, in front of the microphones, everyone says the opposite. At least, those who continue to speak out. For the past few weeks, Julien Tastet, the forwards coach (also departing), has been the staff's representative. On the players' side, it's Titis Sekou Macalou and Lester Etien who repeat over and over again that awareness has finally dawned, that the turning point is coming soon, that the situation isn't so hopeless.
Yet it has become so. By stringing together three consecutive defeats (in Montpellier, against Toulouse at home, at the neighboring Racing 92 ), by conceding 114 points (38 on average) during these three matches, by always displaying the same scenario (in the match until the break, total collapse after the return from the locker room), the Parisians are worrying more and more. Lulling themselves with big words - "revolt" , "DNA of the club" , "impossible is not Paris" - without paying attention to actions.
This week again, we witnessed the same enthusiasm, the same promises, in vain so far. Stade Français is indeed the worst away team in the Top 14: no wins and a tiny defensive bonus point brought back from Brittany… Sekou Macalou dismisses the statistic. “The luck we have in this sport is that, every week, we can question ourselves. Of course, we didn't win away, but that doesn't mean it's going to be impossible. It will be a motivation for us to tell ourselves that we are capable of getting that away victory that would allow us to get our heads above water a little. We will cling to that: for us, nothing is impossible…”
Lester Etien is moving in the same direction, narrowing the spectrum. "I have the impression that mentality has been a bit of our problem since the start of the season. We have the players for it, we have the team for it, we have the infrastructure for it, but it's mentally that we're struggling a bit. We know we can win in Perpignan. It's just a question of mentality," the winger believes. But precisely, do all his teammates have this good mentality? "It's really changed in the last two weeks," swears the Saint-Cyr player who has been at Stade Français since 2018. "It's our role as the old guys to make everyone realize that we're not far from relegating the club and that we have to get moving..." Even those who are preparing to leave the club? "Honestly, we're not discussing that right now. We all have different contracts, but we're all in the same boat. There's one month of competition left, we're not looking forward to what comes next!
In any case, morale is quite low - "after the defeat against Racing, we had a very complicated week, with our heads in the air," admits Macalou - and the situation is serious enough to push Matthieu Blin, the club's former iconic hooker and now a consultant in charge of the scrum, to mobilize the historical channel to reinvigorate the squad. "Quite a few old players left us little messages to say how important the club is, to remind us where we are today and that we had to completely change our focus. But that it certainly wasn't over," Lester Etien hastens to add. "That, until the end, we have to give everything. That's a bit of the Stade Français DNA. Until the last day, it's not over... It puts a little pressure on, but a positive pressure. We know we're being followed, supported, and that feels good."
It's not over, that's true. Provided we get back to winning ways as quickly as possible. If possible this Saturday against a direct competitor and in a boiling arena. A true final for survival? "No," replies the Parisian winger. "We're not there yet. We have three games left, including two at home. This trip is extremely important, but it's not the match of death. The season doesn't end on Saturday." Sekou Maclou echoes the same sentiment. "Every match will be a final. So we'll hang on until the end and we'll see," the flanker says. "There are four left," Julien Tastet continues. "We can't just focus on this one. Saying if we win it, we're saved, if we lose, the season is over is false. We'll have to take points from every match. This is only the first step in our quest to stay up, against, it's true, a direct competitor."
We were a little more demanding on certain individual attitudes on the field, in duels, in support, but by valuing everything we do well.
Julien Tastet
What levers have been activated over the past two weeks to try to get back to winning ways? Have the game and strategy evolved? "If we do the same thing, we'll get the same results. So we changed 2-3 things in training to find a different dynamic. But we can't question everything with four games left," Macalou summarizes. The staff has also been careful not to despair Billancourt. "With a different approach, in a constructive manner." More Coué method than incessant criticism. "We had a period of discussion to understand the problems ," explains Julien Tastet. "We're doing things well but we're lacking consistency. We looked in particular at the half-time problem. How can we evolve to return to the same level of performance after the break, because that's what's causing us problems."
All this while being careful not to further undermine a group that is already morally damaged. "We are trying to highlight all our positive actions even more, to give them confidence so that they can express their full potential. We didn't opt for an hour-long video session where we yell and point out the players' responsibilities. On the contrary, we showed them that, when we respect roles, when we put in the intensity, when we are technically clean, we manage to put our game together and be effective. We were just a little more demanding about certain individual attitudes on the field, in duels, in support, but by highlighting everything we do well..."
Cuddle therapy in the hope of finally bringing home a victory away from home. While recalling the troubled past of a Stade Français side rediscovering its virtues when backed into a corner, in revolt and an extra dose of soul when the situation becomes desperate. The famous DNA of the lightning club. "I hope this legend will continue to exist," Sekou Macalou grimaces more than smiles. "We don't say no to all these little beliefs, we need them... But we're counting above all on the work and the effort we must make to not give up and get back to winning."
lefigaro
