Rugby / National (15th day). Appointment postponed for Stade Dijon against Soyaux / Angoulême

Dijon Stadium – Soyaux/Angoulême

handed over

This time, the Covid has nothing to do with the case. But the frosts of winter which are the source of the postponement of the meeting between the Dijon stadium and Soyaux / Angoulême.

The main ground of the Bourillot stadium being frozen in depth, the referee Mr. Roche, who came specially from Clermont to spend his evening in Côte-d’Or, decreed that the safety and integrity of the players in the meeting were not assured.

Consequently, he returned, believing that the situation would not be better this Sunday, even in the middle of the afternoon, when the two teams agreed to postpone this meeting for a fortnight. of hours.

The Angoumoisins turned back, without playing, twenty-four hours after putting down their crampons in the capital of the Dukes.

“It’s unfortunate, we’re on a long trip (nearly 1300 km round trip). It would be in Pro D2, Dijon would have the match lost. We are asked to be professionals, but we are in a bastard division, with a great mix where everyone is not in tune, ”assures Vincent Etcheto.

“We did not get off the bus, our president went to see the referee and he deemed the lawn dangerous. We are in the middle of January, it is not a storm, it was more than likely that we come to this conclusion. I find that bogus. We are going to have to take a week off from the guys since the match has a good chance of being postponed to February, we suffer. It’s frustrating, ”says the Angoumoisin manager on the way back.

The calendar, a real chestnut tree

Beyond the Canal + consultant’s understandable anger, the remarks of the visiting coach once again raise questions about the accuracy of the match schedule (given that for the National Championship, there are no TV rights ) and on an a priori inappropriate calendar, internationals being rare at this level…

For Thomas Kohler, the technician in charge of the Dijon forwards, the problem is not as simple as it seems: “Sunday afternoon, there would have been the same problem. When it’s -6 degrees at night and the sun doesn’t come out until 2 p.m. Saturday, same thing at 3 p.m. Given the current operation of rugby, you necessarily have matches during this period. To be permanently present at the Bourillot stadium, last Thursday at 7 p.m., you were playing. You make twenty terminals, maybe you dispute this meeting, ”he notes before raising another major concern.

Three upcoming rank receptions

“It is difficult to shift the National because you have to align yourself with the other championships, including the Pro D2. The National is managed by the FFR and the Pro D2 by the League… Then, if you finish at the end of June, you have four weeks of compulsory leave for the players, which means that you resume training at the beginning of August. You cannot benefit from only one month of preparation. It is the Arlesienne. »

The change, therefore, is not for now. In the meantime, the “flourishing” finances of the FFR will probably have to reimburse the Charente fees and the Stadistes – on forced rest before Bourgoin – should expect very soon to receive three consecutive matches: Tarbes, Soyaux/Angoulême and Aubenas.

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