Toulouse, another hot dish on digestion
Beaten in the European semi-final at Leinster, and despite the disappointment, the champions of France do not have time to procrastinate if they want to defend their title.
The elimination in the semi-final of the Champions Cup, Saturday on the lawn of Leinster, therefore changed things. In addition to offering a weekend of respite to Toulouse residents (even if they would have preferred Marseille in ten days), those who have not had the leisure to breathe for many months (between reports, the international period and the added duplicates), it logically had consequences on the management of the workforce. That’s partly what manager Ugo Mola was referring to when he said, minutes after the Irish defeat: “We must not be mistaken about the deadlines. The qualification for the Top 14 is very tense. We are not qualified, far from it. We do not have much time to think.”
If his men had qualified for a new European final, he would probably have been forced to put some to rest so as not to risk blessing them and promoting maximum freshness before such an event. This is not the case. By claiming that the equations were no longer on the agenda, the technician hinted at his intentions in Corrèze. It must be said that there are only two days left of the regular phase and that Stade Toulouse is under pressure in the standings. The slightest disappointment could make him say goodbye to the final stages. Suddenly, taking advantage of a lighter program after this trip (next week, the Stadistes should only have three half-days of training and will take advantage of four days in a row to regenerate), the team aligned at the Stadium will look very good.
A character still under test
Clearly, if Ntamack and Elstadt were spared at the start of the week in the face of recently suppressed fatigue, the beaten Dublin should largely be on the score sheet on Saturday evening. As champions that they are, their pride was undermined after the slap received in Ireland (17-40) and they are keen to show a delicate and conquering face. This was the meaning of Captain Julien Marchand’s hot talk: “We’re going to start again. It’s not over. We’re not going to let go of anything and we have to switch directly to what’s next. There’s no point in dwelling on bad things.”
Especially since he and his partners will be eagerly awaited by a team that is playing its survival in the elite. Anyway, if they want “Give yourself every chance to defend [leur] Shield” as claimed by Matthis Lebel, the Rouge et Noir don’t really have a choice. After their tour of rock stars (Stadium, Vélodrome and Aviva Stadium) and all the emotions experienced in continental competition, it is perhaps on the lawn of the Stadium of Brive that all these great players – ten of whom have achieved the grand slam with the Blues – will put their character to the test the most.