Toulouse. The Spacer’s in save who can mode
Twelfth of the regular season, the Toulousains begin the play-down this evening in Poitiers.
A mini-championship with six teams and ten games that each formation starts with a nest egg of points corresponding to its classification of the first phase: welcome to play-down! The objective is to avoid the last place, synonymous with Ligue B. Presentations of Touloue’s future opponents with Stéphane Sapinart, the Spacer’s coach.
> Plessis-Robinson (9th regular season, 15 points to start the play-downs)
Against Toulouse in the regular season: defeat at home (1-3) and in Toulouse (3-1)
Sapinart’s eye: “They have experienced players in their ranks like Rouzier (the sharp, European champion with France in 2015, editor’s note) and the return from injury of Rebeyrolles (receiver-attacker, editor’s note), absent most of the season, is also a serious asset. We won twice against them but it will be a new story”.
> Nantes-Rezé (10th, 12 points)
Against Toulouse in the regular season: victory in Toulouse (3-1) and Nantes (3-2)
The eye of Sapinart: “It’s a team that didn’t succeed in the first phase. In Toulouse we led in all the sets but we couldn’t finish the job. In Nantes we weren’t not far but without really having a very successful match. There will be a little feeling of revenge against them”.
> Poitiers (11th, 9pts)
Against Toulouse in the regular season: 3-1 victory at Poitiers, 3-0 defeat at Toulouse
Sapinart’s eye: “They have a sharp (Chizoba, editor’s note) who can make a difference. Noda Blanco (receiver-attacker, editor’s note) is very efficient in the second phase. They have an explosive central in attack (Concepcion, editor’s note ) ), a good libero (Ramon, editor’s note): it’s quite complete and it would be good to take points this evening”.
> Cambrai (13th, 3pts)
Against Toulouse in the regular season: 3-1 victory in Toulouse, 3-2 loss in Cambrai
L’œil de Sapinart: “It’s a room that can be quite hot with a growing public. They created a surprise last year but they had a lot of trouble this season with injuries. It seems that they be complete for these play-downs and we will have to be wary of it”.
> Cannes (14th, 0 points)
Against Toulouse in the regular season: 3-0 defeats in Cannes and Toulouse
The eye of Sapinart: “They certainly start with zero points but at the end of the first leg they were 18 behind the penultimate so they are not doing so badly. There are still uncertainties on their squad but it’s a team that will have nothing to lose. Be careful not to bury them too quickly”.