Since the beginning of the preparation, Vincent Collet has repeated that his players lack concentration and aggressiveness on the rebound, and in Orléans, Pascal Donnadieu, the longtime assistant of the Blues, told us that he had found a way to motivate players: “It was I who had the idea of giving them -1 [à chaque rebond offensif concédé] because they piss us off with it! »
We imagine that the Nanterre coach did not appreciate the performance against Australia since in their first defeat in preparation, the Blues conceded 20 offensive rebounds. That’s as many balls returned to the opponent, and if we add the 22 lost balls, it’s more than 40 additional ammunition offered to the Boomers.
“We saw that we again had trouble with the offensive rebound (20 conceded) against a team with interiors that were not great” notes Vincent Collet, interviewed by The Team. “Xavier Cooks (6 takes) came to take several times on the head of our interiors and their backs also recovered. We have a deficit in this sector. Our behavior was better despite everything, it’s the paradox. »
“Anyone can make a box-out but you have to want to do it! »
Like his coach, Evan Fournier has trouble seeing the glass half full. ” We end up with the best team, that’s what we needed. It shows how efficient we can be, but also our shortcomings for the moment, such as the rebound. »
A rebound that remains a collective affair, and at the start of preparation, Collet had pointed out technical problems. “The problem is technical: we don’t box-out [les écrans retard] ! And it’s not so much the fault of the greats, it’s also the outsiders who come from afar to steal rebounds. As long as we don’t make the box-outs, we will be vulnerable. And on the other side, we don’t have much aggressiveness to go for the offensive rebound. It depends a lot on the players. Rudy goes there, Tarpey or Yakuba Ouattara can go there but very few go there. It’s really a technical problem. We have already asked for it, but we need to be aware. Anyone can make a box-out but you have to want to do it! We need to be much more focused on that! »
Back in extremis in the group, Mathias Lessort knows what awaits him under the panels. Especially since Collet remains convinced that it is under the panels that France can make the difference.
Photo credit : Lenoir/The Agency/FFBB
