He arrived in front of the press after the match, exhausted, exhausted but happy. Grégory Alldritt, the third line of La Rochelle and the Blues, was named man of the match between La Rochelle and Racing (20-13) in the semi-final of the European Cup this Sunday, after another high level performance under Lensoise heat. The captain of the Maritimes now dreams of a title in the final against the Irish of Leinster on May 28 in Marseille.
How do you feel after this victory?
GREGORY NEVER. It’s a lot of happiness, joy. We must not trivialize a qualification in the final, it is something enormous. The group has passed a milestone. We have already discovered the finals (two lost against Toulouse last year in the Top 14 and European Cup)and now we want to stop celebrating only half wins, we want something bigger.
You have been named man of the match, is it a source of pride?
It’s always nice to perform on the field, but above all it’s the victory that matters. I try to give everything I have, in each match, to finish with no regrets and an empty tank. And there it is more than empty, and it happens quite often at the moment… We all finished the game with the hood open. We will try to recover. We’re going to drink a few beers tonight but reasonably. That’s the beauty of the Top 14 and the European Cup, we never stop, we have a very important reception next week (May 21 against Stade Français).
The victory was not easy, there were many mistakes on both sides…
We made the match complicated, by not always succeeding in our outings. On certain individual decisions, we often wanted to let go of the ball too much, me first. When you are on the razor’s edge it is better to keep the balloons. But in the end we were strong on the impacts, we are in a good dynamic.
What did you think of the atmosphere in this half-empty stadium in Lens?
I was especially surprised by the number of La Rochelle supporters. We think we’ve seen it all with them, but they surprise us from game to game. I have no doubt that there will be even more of them in Marseille.
Precisely about this final, how to beat Leinster who seem invincible after their demonstration against Toulouse?
It will take hard work. The final will be very spicy. We know where we are going to put our feet, we have already played them (victory in the semi-finals last year, editor’s note). Leinster is the Irish team, everything is framed, millimeter, it’s a steamroller. Not many people see us winning, but I love this kind of challenge. We will have to attack them, have a very good defense, do even more than today. Against them we have no right to flinch. You will have to be extremely pragmatic.
