“The players have the weapons to fight,” says Sylvain Charlet, the forwards coach of Béziers, who is traveling to Angoulême

Sylvain Charlet: “It's a very big challenge that awaits us in Angoulême.” Midi Libre – Laurent François

This Friday (7 p.m.), the ASBH forwards coach is predicting a particularly difficult match in Angoulême. But he knows his players are capable of pulling through.

How did the week of preparation for the trip to Angoulême go? ?

It took place in a good mood after the result obtained against Nice (42-9 victory). We felt the players were calm, focused, sure of their game, of what they can accomplish on the field and aware of the very big task that awaits them in Angoulême. Because each time we went there, we were “opened up”… The players have the weapons to fight and I hope that we will not relive what happened in Mont-de-Marsan (47-32 defeat) before the break.

What will be the key to this match? ?

Rugby starts up front. So there will already be the conquest, the fact of having our balls in the scrum and in touch so that our three-quarters have them for their launches. What characterizes Béziers rugby today is the movement game. To do this, they need balls and this will therefore involve playing up front.

Beziers often had some slumps at the beginning of the year. How can we fix that? ?

It's the fitness coaches who work on that. They pay close attention to the players' fitness, which is managed so that they are as fresh as possible. As for us, we work on the areas that we are lacking during matches.

What do you think of this Angoulême team? ?

It's a complete team, with individualities in certain positions. It must be taken seriously. Angoumoisins are clean in conquest and when they enter the scoring zones, they become aggressive and strong on the man.

How do you manage the Jiffs?

We have quite a few injuries and KOs to manage. We make do with what we have. We can't rotate much. We will ask ourselves the question in due time.

I subscribe to read the rest