Toulouse. TOEC-TOAC-FCT: strict optimism
With only one victory in three games, the TOEC-TOAC-FCT is in eighth place in its pool. At the dawn of the second block, the Toulousains finally hope to be able to count on their entire workforce and find their marks.
After a defeat against Valence d’Agen at the opening of the championship, the TOEC-TOAC-FCT won at home against Tulle before losing at L’Isle-Jourdain. “We started with one of the biggest pieces of the group. We lasted a big hour against Valencia before taking a try that got us out of the bonus at the end of the match. Against Tulle, we had trouble in the game , but we didn’t give up and we ended up winning. It’s very good because it’s a match that we might not have won last year. We were very satisfied the state of mind of the team”, welcomes Thierry Barbière, the Toulouse manager.
A conquering melee, a failing touch
In terms of accounting, the Toulouse club has five points and ranks eighth in its group before the start of the second block where they will face Pamiers, Castanet and Castelsarrasin. “It’s okay, we could have aimed for six points if we hadn’t lost the bonus in Valence. The second block that arrives will tell us what will be the rest of our season. It will dictate our objectives”, affirms Thierry Barbière .
To hope to glean more points than during the first block, the residents of the Georges-Aybram sports park will have to learn from their mistakes. “We suffered a lot in touch. This is an area that must be corrected otherwise we will not exist”, regrets the manager who consoles himself with the level of his team in closed scrum. “I didn’t think we would be at this level. It’s one of the satisfactions of the start of the season.”
If the scrum is there, the Toulouse still lack automation. “We are late in the game”, explains Thierry Barbière. “We had a lot of injuries at the start of the championship. In the pack, we had too many injuries in key positions, that put us in difficulty. Also, our number 10, who is New Zealander, does not speak still good French so it does not make the game easier. Over time, and the return of the injured, it will get better and better.
Start of response Sunday at 3:30 p.m., with the reception of Pamiers, still undefeated and who is one of the favorites of the group.