Champions Cup – Ugo Mola (Toulouse): “The Top 14 will still be distorted with all these French teams eliminated”
CHAMPIONS CUP – After the victory of his team against Munster, Ugo Mola was still satisfied. Even if the first place escaped to the Haut-Garonne, the red and black manager does not sulk his pleasure to have finished in second place in a raised hen. The round of 16 against the Bulls, the rest of the season, the overloaded schedule, Ugo Mola never stopped talking, and it’s worth the detour.
You faced a great team from Munster, true to their reputation…
When I sold the qualities of this training during the week, some people were skeptical, as if it was going to be a formality for us. But given their latest releases, I’m not necessarily surprised. We beat a very good team, which we did not manage to win despite our good start. They were allowed to come back and they didn’t mind. It was a very high level game.
Do you have any regrets with this victory with “only” four points?
If I have to have any regrets, it’s more about last week’s meeting at Sale… Of course we can always do better, and be a little more patient close to the line. But this Munster team made its match, and never gave up. With them, almost favorable situations do not become so. The first place, we lost it on the lawn of Sale.
Were you torn at half-time between going for the bonus or securing the win first?
We never hesitated. We just wanted to impose ourselves this Sunday even if everyone was talking about the bonus. And even victory almost eluded us. Fortunately, we quickly score a penalty after the second try to regain the score. You could see that these Irish didn’t need a lot of ammunition to hurt. We sometimes played a little backwards but our defense allowed us to win.
Were you surprised by the refereeing, especially on the ground game?
A little, especially on the consistency of decisions. The tacklers were penalized more on one side than the other. I will take the time to analyze all this but it is frustrating. I remember a few actions near the opposing line where refereeing decisions were very important. Then, Munster are one of the best teams in the ground game on the continent and in accordance with this Champions Cup.
You will face the Bulls in the round of 16, that you inspire this duel?
I will have the pleasure of meeting Jake White, the manager of the Bulls, with whom I have kept in touch for several years. Then… (he hesitates) I always had the impression that the integration of South Africans is the first stone of a future international competition. It turns out that we play a lot of provinces. We realize that in our pool, we had the English champion, the URC winner, the European champion… So it’s a performance to finish second. In the other group, the French clubs had a lot of trouble and none qualified. I think the South African teams have really raised the level of the Champions Cup and it’s exciting to challenge them.
Yet undefeated, Ugo Mola’s men will face the Pretoria Bulls in Toulouse, in the round of 16 ud83dudd1chttps://t.co/49KTjwy6ba
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) January 22, 2023
Your second place may take you to find Leinster in the semi-finals…
It is true that it is hard to see Leinster not reaching the last four and even the final, which they could play at home. However, nothing is ever taken for granted in rugby, as we saw with La Rochelle last season. We will initially focus on our round of 16, and we will see what happens next. What I do know is that the Top 14 will once again be skewed with the many French teams eliminated, who could get more rest. Our schedule is likely to be daunting over the next few months, but we’re used to it.
The round of 16 and possibly the quarter-final of the Champions Cup will be played a few weeks after the 6 Nations Tournament…
And before that, there will be a trip to Castres, a week after the end of 6 Nations, which is also a habit for us. I sometimes have trouble understanding this coincidence in the calendar, which is still very well thought out by some, less by others. What I do know is that this duel against the CO will prepare us to be effective in the ground game before challenging the Bulls.