2023-05-07 12:22:10
Ambitious Servette: “We are not going to hide, we want to go up”
Clément Fromont, coach of the Garnet, approaches the finals of Federal 1 with appetite. It all starts with a Basque expedition on Sunday.
Clément Fromont and the Servettiens are four games away from possible promotion to the fourth tier of French rugby.
Jolypics
Servette Rugby Genève, very good second in its Federal 1 championship despite being newly promoted to this level (5th French division), is entering the decisive phase of its season. The Garnets, who are playing – that’s the term – their round of 16 first leg this Sunday against the Basques of the Mauléon athletic stadium, will celebrate a new rise if they reach the semi-finals. This is the avowed objective of the club and of Clément Fromont, coach and sports director.
Do you approach these finals on your tiptoes or with a rounded chest?
Let’s say a bit of both. We arrive full of humility, because we will face a team that we do not know at all, in a region that we do not know too much either, in Geneva. So in that sense, it’s a bit tricky and we’ll arrive on tiptoe, in a somewhat hostile environment. At the same time, we will also approach the match with confidence and ambition. So there you go, we’re a little in between, but one thing is certain: we don’t want to miss this double confrontation.
You mention possible hostility. When Swiss people visit Basques in rugby, what can it do in terms of culture shock?
I know the region and the context personally (note: he played as a player at Aviron Bayonnais between 2004 and 2007, then at the Section Paloise between 2007 and 2011). I know that it will be complicated in terms of reception, in a bastion of French rugby, a region which has a great culture of this sport. It’s not that they don’t like us, but it’s going to tease us a lot. We have to be ready for that and respond calmly on the pitch.
“It’s still a good child, but it’s hot. We’re going to get a little swayed.”
How do you prepare for that, especially with players who have never experienced it?
By showing them images of what can happen in Mauléon, by warning them, by asking them to disregard the context. We have players who are used to high level, others who experienced the final stages of last year, we have the weapons to keep a cool head. It’s a combination of what happens on the pitch and in the stands. It’s still good-natured, but it’s hot. We’re going to rock a little, but that’s part of the game and that’s also why we like these final stages. We set foot in unknown places, which are not favorable to us at the start, where we have to know how to keep a cool head and play our rugby anyway.
And to answer by the game, how to go about it?
We have analyzed this Mauléon team well. We will have to be very strong on the fundamentals, deprive them of the ball as much as possible in order to develop our own game. We must not let them have the ball, especially not in motion or in disorganization, not letting them express their natural qualities – they have very good rugby players.
Clément Fromont gives his instructions at half-time in a match against CS Nuiton.
Eric Frachon – Live Media Show
Is it too early to talk about promotion or is that the stated goal?
It’s clearly in people’s minds, we’re not going to hide: we want to go up. When you’re in the round of 16 and there are two laps to go, you can’t say you don’t want to go up. Now, if we don’t go up, it’s not a disaster and we’ll try next year. We don’t have a knife to our throats, but it’s a goal we have set ourselves at the club.
The jump from Federal 1 to National 2, how important is it from a sporting and financial point of view?
The leap is not huge, we are more in a form of continuity. In terms of the game, I think we could already race with the team we have today – in the event of an upswing, we would strengthen ourselves on a few points, in order to be even more efficient. And at the financial level, we would also be in continuity with this season, it would not be a problem for the club. The 90% of the players in our squad work 100% on the side and that will not change in the event of a rise. The club would keep its amateur status, in a division where clubs can choose professionalism.
“Growing up, we realized that we had the level to try to go see above.”
Would going up or not change the trajectory of many of your players?
No. If we don’t go up there, the objective will be to go up next year and, therefore, to keep the same framework. Some elements, which are mostly already known, will not be kept, others will stop their career. There will be a few additions and, at the staff level, with my assistant Grégory (note: Garnier, forwards coach) and our physical trainer (Yannick Bonifacio), we are also in continuity. Whether we go up or not, not much will change in sporting terms. Starting this season, the objective was to stay in this division and, along the way, growing up, we realized that we had the level to try to go and see above.
It’s the same refrain every season, rise after promotion… How far can Servette Rugby go in your idea?
The next stage is the National 2. From there, to go higher, we will need infrastructure. We must be able to host matches, train, it is essential. As long as we don’t have this minimum in terms of working conditions, it will be illusory to look higher. So the idea is to go up to National 2, to stabilize there while strengthening the structures of the club. I have total confidence in the club for the future, but it’s music for the future. Today, at time T, we receive our matches in four different places (note: Avusy, Annemasse, Plan-les-Ouates and, these days, the Stade de Genève), the players have learned to adapt. But in terms of development, if we want to see higher, we will need more. Projects exist, discussions are being held, which we hope will come to fruition one day. I know the club is working hard to improve these match and training conditions.
In your eyes as a coach and sports director, what would be the ideal tool?
A small stadium with 3,000 or 4,000 seats and, around this stadium, the necessary environment to be able to train: a field, changing rooms, a weight room, a living space – but here we are talking about an ideal. We are working on it.
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