Basque-ing in quarter-final glory
Bayonne travel to England with pride
It has not always been an easy ride for Bayonne this season, but as they travel to meet in-form London Irish on Saturday, coach Gilbert Doucet says his team must be proud of their achievements.
Doucet is under no illusions as to either the size or significance of the task as his Basque squad prepare to face the Exiles, but having already endured a rough ride to Gloucester, he believes the Basques can be better prepared this time.
“There is a very high quality of teams participating in the European Challenge Cup,” he said.
“I certainly don’t think we can underestimate London Irish as opposition. They have a very full and competitive side with strong players in all positions.
“We know from our trip to Gloucester what the quality of the Guinness Premiership is like and, talking to players there, we know that London Irish are seen as formidable opponents.
"Let’s face it – any team that can boast players of the quality of Olivier Magne can only be seen as fierce adversaries!”
The tournament has not always been the centre of the Bayonne season. Avoiding relegation has been the number one priority, but that is now looking relatively assured.
The Bayonne team has produced some memorable performances as well, beating Biarritz 10-9 in the Basque derby and Toulouse 19-13 at Toulouse.
As the season has gone on, and Bayonne have progressed both at home and domestically, Doucet is in no doubt that this year’s Challenge Cup has captured the hearts of the Basque team and supporters alike.
Most lower French teams use the Challenge Cup as an opportunity to rotate the squad, but Bayonne were given a handy draw, against Romanian minnows Bucuresti and against France's weakest top-flight club Toulon – whom Bayonne thrashed last weekend 43-16.
The reserve squad did well enough to take the Bayonnais through in a best runners-up position, and managed to stay healthy in the process.
“We have been lucky in terms of injury this season," continued Doucet.
"We are going to be able to field a full-strength squad for this game, and we will certainly be looking to continue in this tournament which has now captured our imagination.
“If I am honest, at the beginning of the season we saw the European Challenge Cup as a secondary priority to the Top 14.
"There is a lot of pressure on the [French Top 14] teams and a very full calendar so we were very concerned about the lack of depth in our squad.
“We initially decided to use the early games as opportunities to rotate the squad and give some of our younger players European experience.
“Having said that, as the tournament progressed we found ourselves getting more and more into it and now we have qualified for the quarter-finals it is a different ball game altogether.
"We are really proud of what we have achieved and are hungry for more. We are going to London Irish looking for a victory.”
