Villière frees his people, too cautious Toulouse residents
Gabin Villière’s victorious try at the end of the match, Carbonel’s precision against the poles but also the lack of ambition on the Toulouse side and the indiscipline of Toulon. Find our Tops / Flops after Toulon-Toulouse (19-15)
Tops
Gabin Villelière a surgeon
As we headed into a no-try match, RCT winger Gabin Villière donned his light habits. First taking advantage of the good work of Wainiqolo on the right wing, before the game switched to the other side, the tricolor international played with three defenders to score the winning try less than 10 minutes from the terms. An oh so important individual feat in the Var season because it keeps the hope of Top 6, synonymous with qualification in the final phase. Unthinkable a few months ago.
Louis Carbonel precise against poles, but not only
In a match where the points were mainly scored against the posts, it was difficult not to suffer Louis Carbonel, author of a very clean 5/5. The Toulon striker did not flinch in his favorite exercise but also distinguished himself in the game. Involved in the action of the test, he intelligently fixed the opposing defense before shifting Lakafia to his left. The continuation of the offensive will lead to the exploit of Gabin Villière. His Toulouse counterpart Thomas Ramos could have been in this Top but paid for his failure in the 69th minute. He could have allowed the Stadistes to take the lead when the score was 12-12.
Emmanuel Meafou, elite scratcher
The Australian second line from Stade Toulousain would clearly have deserved the best conclusion. Imperial in the rucks, he recovered countless balls on the ground, especially in the first period. The colossus made his 145kg speak to bring order and push the Toulonnais to the fault. He also issued to annihilate several hot situations especially in the 38th minute when his slaughter in traffic stopped dead a test opportunity in favor of the locals just before the break.
The flops
Toulousains too chilly?
This is in any case the impression returned by the formation of Ugo Mola. The Toulousains, who moved to the Vélodrome without several executives left to rest (Dupont and Ntamack in particular), never managed to ignite a part that they dominated for a long time. Essentially concerned with defending well, the Stadistes did not take enough risks to hurt their evening opponent. The defensive bonus point obtained in the last moments makes it possible not to pay too much for this lack of ambition.
But also offensively ineffective
If they managed to lay down the law on the ground, the visitors did not know how to concretize the few interesting situations they had to play. Like Maxime Médard in the 24th minute, author of a forward when a shift was possible towards the outside or Nelson Épée, taken over by Gabin Villière after a good breakthrough. We can also mention this ball immediately returned to the Toulonnais after a nice 50/22 found by Thomas Ramos. Ugo Mola’s men can harbor some regrets.
Toulon’s indiscipline
Too often penal, the troop of Franck Azéma did not make the task easier this Saturday at the Vélodrome. Largely dominated in the rucks, the RCT made mistakes too often and conceded 13 penalties over the whole game, ie 6 more than their opponent. The Toulon staff should not take very long to identify the faults to be corrected before the perilous trip to Bordeaux next weekend.