The shock and first place in the Top 14 ranking for Toulouse. This Sunday evening, for the 23rd day, Stade Toulousain largely crushed the duel of the leaders against Stade Français (49-18), with the offensive bonus.
In a fast-paced first half, it was Toulouse who were the first to draw. On a sideline in the Parisian camp. The Toulouse forwards form a maul, well defended by the Parisians. But on the transformation of the game, Mallia recovers the ball and sends a marvelous pass to his winger Lebel, who only has to finish (10th). However, the Parisians reacted quickly thanks to an opportunistic action from hooker Peyresblanques, who quickly played a penalty five meters away and flattened behind the line (21st).
At this point in the match, the two teams are tied, 10 all, thanks to a penalty on each side. But Graou will allow Toulouse to regain the lead, with an action worthy of the great Stade Toulousain. The ball goes wide and lands in the hands of Capuozzo, back this weekend, who accelerates and opens a gap before serving his scrum half inside. All he has to do is slip between the poles. At halftime the score was 20 to 13 and the match still seemed open.
However, it is a festival that the Toulouse residents will offer in the second half. As soon as they returned from the locker room, Ahki was found on the sidelines and scored a try in the corner (45′). Seven minutes later, the Toulouse people will offer us a counter as they have the secret. Starting from a Parisian throw five meters from their line, the locals will recover the leather, play with the foot and, when the ball falls, Lester Etien makes a mistake and attempts an impossible pass. The ball is recovered by Mallia who, with a clever kick, gives Ramos the try. However, Toulouse will once again suffer a somewhat disappointing attempt from the opportunistic Parisian. Segonds plays well one-on-one, after a bad clearance and sending Etien to make amends. The score was then 35 to 18, but the hope of a comeback could never really germinate in the minds of the Stade Français players. In the last 10 minutes, the unstoppable Meafou, who has just entered the game, will score two strong tries to increase the score.
Stade Toulousain therefore takes the leadership position for the first time this season, thanks to this improved victory. At the same time, they send a strong message to the competition. For Stade Français, the return to the Paris region will be complicated given the score, especially for the best defense in the championship. There was a real gap between the two teams this evening at the Ernest-Wallon stadium.
Thanks to this success, Ugo Mola’s players take the lead in the championship, just ahead of the Parisians. The latter, who had fielded a reshuffled team for this trip to Ernest-Wallon, will face another “big one” from the Top 14 next Sunday: UBB.
