Thomas Darmon (center of Montpellier, after the victory against La Rochelle) : “The victory is there, it was not easy, we went to look for it. We built this game well. Solidarity, defense were important. There were a lot of handball mistakes, but we responded. It’s the start of the season, it’s always complicated, there are automatisms to take, you have to work, but we are reassured about the conquest.
Everything was not perfect, but we had a good collective defense. Last year, we took points too easily in our 22 and there was a desire to defend the line, not to take points, it’s very positive, we have to keep that. In the second half, we gained confidence, we improved three points by three points, without overplaying. »
Alexandre Bécognée (third line of Montpellier) : “Everything was not perfect, but we were united on the defensive line as in attack and for that, I am proud of the team. I hope we can manage to hold that, we have to be rigorous. We didn’t let go. We kept our commitments. It’s a combat sport, but you have to know when you’re dominated, show self-sacrifice. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, it’s the first game of the season. Mentally, they hooked us, they had come back close to us in score. But beating La Rochelle means something, it’s going to be a top team this year. But all Top 14 clubs have top teams. »
Sébastien Boboul (Stade Rochelais forward coach) : “There is frustration, because there was room to do better, to start the season well, to take at least 1 point. We camped in their 22 meters and lacked realism, we missed points at the foot. We wasted chances, we lacked discipline, there were a lot of dropped balls. We were positive at half-time, we were still tied (10-10), yes it was frustrating, but we had to boost the guys because we were not far from cracking them. »