There was only one team on the field in Toulouse on Saturday evening, and it was the French champion who blew up LOU (45-0) after a high-flying second period. With this new disappointment, the Rhone residents fell to 13th place and the Toulouse residents took provisional fourth place during this 12th day.
Following on from their heavy setback in La Rochelle last week (29-8), the reigning French champion had a complicated start, lacking continuity. On the sidelines, Ugo Mola has long been annoyed by the lack of precision from his players. Julien Marchand completed a good collective effort from the red and black forward pack (11th) to open the scoring, but we had to wait until the half-hour mark to see Dupont serve Ramos on a plate to widen a small gap (30th). , 12-0).
The second act was a long ordeal for the visitors, who suffered a terrible 33-0. Meafou was the first to shine powerfully to cross the line (44th). Lebel, very little affected this evening, concluded a nice movement of his team with his acceleration (57th). Ramos took advantage of a small opening in the defense to score a double (64th) and seal the suspense of the match. The ordeal of Botha’s teammates did not end there. Mauvaka, well helped by Jelonch, in turn crossed the line to pass the 40-point mark (68th). In leg this Saturday evening after his return from his first training with the French 7s team, Dupont concluded the fireworks with a nice dive (80th).
A way for Ugo Mola’s men to get a little closer to their objective of grabbing the top places at the end of the first leg of the championship, with this 4th place, and the imminent return of the Champions Cup.
For the LOU, the horrors of a fight not to go down are becoming clearer: the Rhone residents now occupy 13th place, and are virtually in the place of the roadblock. The results, well below expectations, will put Fabien Gengenbacher in an even more delicate situation in the weeks to come. The match against Perpignan, on January 27 (5 p.m.), promises to be a turning point in their season.
