TOPS
Last year, and even in previous seasons, the Jalibert-dépendance was often singled out on the banks of the Garonne. Trained at the club, Mateo Garcia took No. 10 successfully this Sunday evening. The young fly-half performed well in the game, with well-felt pressure kicks and perfect defensive coverage when the kicks multiplied with Hervé, his Toulon counterpart, also in good form. All punctuated by a 6/7 and a total of 17 points.
Badly launched after an initial defeat on the lawn of Racing 92, despite a defensive bonus point, Yannick Bru’s men were not more reassuring at home but did not commit an accounting faux pas. With nine points taken from the three games, the balance sheet is therefore positive. The scrum and the many counterattacks will be the main satisfactions for the locals.
FLOPS
Stifling heat, two outsiders to win the shield and a minimalist game: it felt like a finals match this Sunday at Chaban-Delmas, during a tasteless first period marked by cascading inaccuracies. Forwards galore, few combinations, inaccuracies in all sectors, and no incursion ball in hand in the 22 opposing meters for the two teams. The only bright spot was a somewhat academic clearance from Maxime Lamothe, author of a nice kick, greeted by a stadium full but weaned from spectacle.
Like other teams in the championship, the Toulonnais knew the difficulties of this trap start to the season, with only three games before a two-month break. And like other tenors, they had three complicated matches, without binding and very disjointed in Lyon (27-15 defeat) and against Bayonne (19-14 victory). This evening again, if the balloons carried were effective, all the other sectors were in difficulty. Behind, only Dréan stood out but the young winger was far too alone.
