Despite a narrow defeat in Clermont in a friendly, RCT is full of hope (31-24)

Sometimes, the result isn't the first thing you remember. Especially during a friendly match. The respective attitudes of coaches Pierre Mignoni, full of hope, and Christophe Urios (read below) , as they left the Auvergne stadium, clearly demonstrated this. Because, this Friday evening at the Mas d'Issoire stadium, RCT lost again in a warm-up match (31-24) against ASM. But, one week before the start of the Top 14 regular season, the lessons to be learned are rather positive.

Initially more in control of the elements and the wet pitch, according to Urios, Toulon attacked the match with full force. And, already a scorer in Perpignan last week, Gaël Dréan distinguished himself once again.

In the ^22nd minute, the supersonic winger took advantage of a missed kick from the Auvergne rearguard and a good chase from Oliver Cowie to race into the in-goal area. He did it again a quarter of an hour later, following a long pass from Baptiste Serin coming out of the scrum, flattening the ball into the corner.

Dréan well launched...

The match against Usap had suggested it, and now we are almost certain: the Breton from Toulon, second best try scorer in the Top 14 last season, is off to a magnificent run. "Gaël? He's going to do better than last season! " exclaimed Mignoni after the match. "He's someone who can be an X factor for us. Mathis Ferté, "Seta" [Tuicuvu] and others too..."

...the Cowie-Brex pair too

Among these "others", perhaps the technician was thinking of center Oliver Cowie . The young RCT hopeful (20 years old) formed an experimental pairing against Clermont with Juan Ignacio Brex (33 years old, 46 caps with Italy), who was making his first appearance in red and black. And their partnership has already sparked. After a first sharp breakthrough on a pass from his partner ( ^2nd ) and a small run down the sidelines ( ^9th ), the center was sometimes used as a fixation point, sometimes as a facilitator of play. The same goes for "Nacho" Brex, a recruit who arrived from Treviso in the off-season. "He had a great, great match ," rejoiced Pierre Mignoni. "It's the first time they were associated, and we will of course see them again."

Then he added: "They are two very good players. Oliver is 20 years old and I knew we could count on him. He's here! I don't think there will be too many numbers on the back with these profiles (smile). It's very interesting."

A finisher with good form, a pair of crosses already connected... But also an efficient conquest, especially in the first half. Until the turnover in the second half, the scrums had been kept clean, the lineouts easily secured by Baubigny, Rebbadj and Ribbans (an opposing throw was even stolen) and the attacking mauls dominant. In the first 40 minutes, the try on a carried ball by Auvergne hooker Barnabé Massa was the only false note in this sector.

"We must score two more tries"

Because, obviously, these Clermontois, until then cursed in Issoire, were not going to let themselves be walked all over a week before challenging Toulouse. At the end of the ping-pong and the last few messy minutes, they won thanks to one more try on the counter.

A gap that could have been closed much earlier according to the RCT coach: "We saw some good things, but I think that in the first half, we should have scored two more tries. It seems to me that we were still above them at half-time with the starting teams. Afterwards, there were quite a few rotations at the end. In the second half, I regret that we lost the ball a little because we made too many mistakes. Some rather stupid mistakes. But, overall, I am satisfied with the match."

With this end of preparation at the foot of the mountains, the RCT therefore seems to have validated some bases to prepare for its next big climb: the Top 14. With a first pass next Saturday, at 7 p.m. in Montpellier.