The match: 7-39

No problem for the tenants of the title, who succeeded even in numerical superiority in the last five minutes, and added a fifth try for good measure when they already had the offensive bonus in their pocket. A cut above its opponent, dominant in all sectors, Stade Toulousain did not have to force its talent to win in Cardiff against a very weak opponent.

Draft and enamelled with hand faults, this match, which had nothing to do with the remake of the first final of the European Cup, thus saw the victory of Toulouse. As in 1996. But not in the same stadium since the National Stadium (erected in 1984 on the site of Arms Park) – replaced in 1999 by the Millennium renamed Principality – is located just behind the small artificial turf stadium of Cardiff which was the scene of this opening.

After two initial penalty goals scored without trembling by Romain Ntamack (8th, 16th), Stade Toulousain benefited from two accelerations of his genius, we mean Antoine Dupont, for the tests of Jelonch (24th) and Ahki ( 39th). The insatiable international scrum-half himself then signed his team’s third try, in the second half, his feat from the back end (57th) bringing the score to 7-27.

Aligning a very young and very young team since its holders were, for the most part, exposed to the Omicron variant of Covid-19 during a recent trip to South Africa and therefore placed in isolation, Cardiff finding itself dumped during this second period, long ordeal for the Welsh, who scored no points, were reduced to fourteen in the 75th (red card against Beetham for dangerous tackle) and cashed two other tries signed Arthur Bonneval (66th) and Iosefa Tekori (76th) behind the balloon carried at no charge.

The player: Antoine Dupont, faithful to his standing

Just voted the best player in the world, the Toulouse international scrum-half did not have time to fall asleep on his laurels that he had to fight in Cardiff. What he did. In the first half, when the game was messed up, his two breakthroughs tore the Welsh defense apart and, at the end of his sharp lessons, he secured two passes to send Jelonch (24th) then Ahki (39th) to the test. In the second half, recovering the ball in touch on an ill-adjusted Welsh throw, Antoine Dupont (25) escaped three opponents in his characteristic style (hook, racket, acceleration) for a try (57th). Then he offered a try to his right winger Arthur Bonneval with a pass to the foot behind ruck (66th), which brought his team’s lead to 7-32. Before going out just after and being elected man of the match.