MAINTENANCE. On the eve of the first of three derbies against Racing 92 (in the Top 14 then two in the Champions Cup), the CEO of the Parisian club provides an update on the situation for Le Figaro. And he is not kind to part of his workforce.
Le Figaro. The defeat at home against the UBB, last Sunday in the Top 14, does it change the ambitions for the end of the season?
Thomas Lombard: It’s going to be more complicated, obviously (the Stade Français is 11th9 points from 6eLyon, Ed.). To reassure ourselves, we remember that last season, when we lost at home against Clermont, everyone buried us. And we qualified at the end of an exhausting sprint… The idea is not to say “we can still qualify or we can no longer qualify”. What I expect is that the players evolve at their level. This season is unfortunately marked by inconstancy, with successful performances and moments of absence which are very expensive. Losing at home against Bordeaux, better ranked than us, it can happen. We lose our room for maneuver earlier in the season, against Montpellier at home for example, where we take the double bonus but we lose, or trips without a defensive bonus to Pau, Castres, Biarritz… Because of all these points left on the way, we are no longer in control of our destiny at the slightest defeat at home.
Have you identified the reasons for this inconsistency?
The staff is the nose in the handlebars at the moment. However, to analyze things, it is necessary to take a little height. There are explanations to be found and adjustments to be made, but in a lasting way, not just in the reaction… I’m going to draw a parallel with last season. Accounting, we finish 6th in a snag. But we are not significantly better than the 7th, 8th or 9th (Castres, Toulon, Lyon, Ed.). However, it was very flattering. And this result has undoubtedly caused us to lie to each other a little about our true value and the work that we still have to do. Our project is still in its consolidation phase. There is no room for complacency, for slacking off. It is on this axis that we must improve: that the whole team has the same involvement, the same requirements and the same objective. This is how we can bring the Stade Français to its best level in relation to its potential. That’s what’s frustrating. We are able to intermittently play at a satisfactory level. But not often enough…
“We are in Paris where, when you leave the stadium, everything stops. We therefore have to be even more demanding, to be more competitive than we are today. »
Thomas Lombard
Have players disappointed you this season?
The staff and I have fairly open discussions with the players. When you arrive at the club, you have to put the right mindset, be ready to give the maximum. You can’t afford to be just happy to be there, because the results won’t happen on their own. It may have been one of our faults to suggest that it was enough to put on the Stade Français jersey to turn into a great rugby player… Our project, but also the players, must undoubtedly score more strongly the need for excellence and commitment. We are in Paris where, when you leave the stadium, everything stops. We therefore have to be even more demanding, to be more competitive than we are today. It is a process of general transformation. The Stade Français has often been criticized in the past for its inconstancy, for only performing in reaction to the great era. But, today, great players are rarer, due to the economic context – with the salary cap, we have many more competitors – and sporting – attractiveness is based on results.
Will character and desire therefore be key elements in future recruitment?
It is important, yes. I believe in group dynamics. You need character players, not just one but several, who transform others, who take them away. Those who don’t get on the rack and stay on the side of the road eliminate themselves. This is what must be created. We had it sometimes, when there is a good series of results. Conversely, as soon as it does not work, the encephalogram remains flat. And it’s costing us dearly…
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On the recruitment side, the other clubs are multiplying the announcements, but not the Stade Français. Should we be worried?
Rest assured, players will join our ranks (to smile). But, even if some have taken it upon themselves to do it for us (Morgan Parra, Lyon hooker Mickaël Ivaldi, or Biarrots Peyresblanques and Hirigoyen, Editor’s note), we haven’t revealed anything yet because I think it’s not respectful for the players in place to announce recruitment during the season. There is a time for everything. We have been living a very particular thing for two or three years. From now on, the transfer market starts in September! But we will get stronger. The group will grow. Afterwards, with the salary cap falling, the only real way to find fuel, good players, is to have a training center which releases two or three elements each year. We’re working on it, but it takes two or three years for the seed you planted to grow into a tree. It’s starting to happen with Léo Barré (opener), Thomas Crétu (pillar), Mamoudou Meite (hooker)…, we have internationals in the U18s. It’s starting to come back. And the Stade Académie that we have just launched is very attractive. All of this takes time, but we had to integrate these economic changes.
Can the three derbies in a row against Racing 92 help to bounce back, or even save the season?
We are in this position, common this season, where we have to react. In any case, I hope there will be a strong energy among us. I would have preferred that we be in the continuity of the results, in control. Afterwards, the derby is always a very special match. Last season, Racing 92 won at home and we won at home. Unfortunately, we have two major players, Kremer and Waisea, who are out of at least the first two derbies.
And there is a Waisea-addiction this season…
When he’s there, he changes the game for the team. Every time he touches a ball, something happens. I think others are capable of having this influence on our game. But it’s a question of state of mind, of desire. Or acclimatization, if I think of Laumape.
Talking about Laumape, are you worried that he is not yet exploiting his full potential?
It is marked with the seal of the All Blacks. The stabilization process always takes a bit of time, we knew that. We are not worried, it will happen, now is the time. He also needs to evolve in a context of global trust, which is not the one that characterizes us the most at Stade Français.
