During the World Cup, the top 14 teams enjoy their free time

DrThese months without an official match. The players are absent, without knowing when they will return, and it depends on whether their national team stops in the group stage, or will go to the final. Then we grant leave to the returnees, before entering an endless tunnel of matches. The World Cup is a strange time for the top 14 clubs, who must prepare to hit the ground running again (Day 4, Sunday 29 October), while ensuring players deprived of competition can breathe. A quick overview of the area.

For UBB (7, 9…

DrThese months without an official match. The players are absent, without knowing when they will return, and it depends on whether their national team stops in the group stage, or will go to the final. Then we grant leave to the returnees, before entering an endless tunnel of matches. The World Cup is a strange time for the top 14 clubs, who must prepare to hit the ground running again (Day 4, Sunday 29 October), while ensuring players deprived of competition can breathe. A quick overview of the area.

For UBB (7th place, 9 points), “Chance”

The Blues of the Union Bordeaux-Bègles shine under the colors of the XV of France. During the last match against Italy (60-7), they scored 6 of the 8 French attempts (Benaud double, Moivana double, Jalibert, Bel Piare). Those who remained in the Gironde returned to action on September 14 for the second pre-season which runs over 6-7 weeks, until the resumption of the championship and a trip to Toulouse, during the fourth day of the top 14.

Despite the length of this tunnel, UBB seizes this period without conformity with a smile and seizes the opportunity to combine work, relaxation and refreshing the mind. “The hardest thing mentally is the 16 weekends in a row that will follow,” confirms technical director Yannick Bro. We often complain about the lack of a development period in French rugby. For those out there, this is a real opportunity. I don’t feel any fatigue within the group, it’s a fairly enjoyable period. »

The Girondin staff breaks up the weeks by giving players two- to three-day weekends, but also by setting up different challenges. “This could be an in-depth analysis of a team competing with the French national team for the world title,” explains Yannick Bro. We are using this World Cup as an opportunity to work with countries to discover, draw inspiration from and make progress.

UBB will play a friendly match against Racing 92 on Friday (9pm) at Chaban-Delmas Stadium, and will play direct opposition against Division Paloise on the morning of October 21 in Tyros.

Baloise Section (2nd, 10 points) Cutting and harvesting

After being crowned honorary runner-up just three days after the tournament, Pau played the card of continuity “by staying true to his traditional seasons,” recalls Sebastian Piqueronis. “We have continued to establish ourselves in the region through external training within clubs in Bern. » At Bjarne, we did not forget to take it easy: “Players were entitled to a week off twice. » And some nice little bonuses “like the harvest at Goransson vineyards planned for this Thursday. »

“This time allows us to improve our game project without repeatedly evaluating the match.”

However, some fought harder than others during Supersevens. “This allowed some to take advantage of moments of distress. Even if they stumbled miserably in the first stage, they deserved to win the other two stages. We are happy that they came out of it and grew.” And even the candidates for the final, which they will play on October 22 in the arena.

With all that said, “it’s hard to find a lot of time,” according to the director. We complain a lot about not having them, as they are a rare and precious commodity, and as soon as we have a few of them, we are satisfied with them. This allows us to improve our game project without repeatedly evaluating the match. We work differently compared to traditional weeks. »

The department is also “closely following” the journey of the globalists, particularly the last two in the running (New Zealander Whitlock and Fijian Tagitajivalu).

– Aveyron Bionai (11th place, 5 points) is a model of normal life

If their faces were not recognizable, Guillaume Rouet and Gaetan Germain would have looked like friends from Bayonne, like many others. On Friday morning, they enjoyed the still summer sun around the coffee, on the terrace, at the end of Spain Street. The centre-half and full-back are in the process of recovering after tearing their cruciate ligament last November, like the rest of the top 14, and are waiting to recover. After the huge disappointment at Custer (37-0 defeat) a month ago, the rowers had 15 days off. “It was necessary at least because I made them restart for 4 weeks once this summer, I must have been the only one to do that,” manager Gregory Patat said before the trip to Pierre Fabre.

Then recovery was achieved with a bit of weight training and a lot of rugby. In all its forms. Fairly classic with workshops on handling positions and attacking combinations. Fairly unusual with tennis or rugby and frisbee sessions. “You have to be creative to keep everyone under pressure,” Patat explained. After the break we will enter a washing machine of 15 uninterrupted matches, and there will be no room for near misses. » So, before breathing stops, Bayonne residents are entitled to a glimpse of normalcy. Free weekends and not-so-long days. To be present when their children leave school, for example. In this kind, Camille Lopez was able to take her family to watch the World Cup match between South Africa and Romania, in Bordeaux.