TOPS
If South Africa was able to achieve the feat of winning a second consecutive World Cup on Saturday against New Zealand (12-11), the rainbow nation relied on an XXL bench to do the difference. And this Sunday evening, at the end of the 4th day of Top 14, the Toulouse team turned the match around thanks to their replacements to win in money time (22-19 in the 74th, first time leading the game). With Ahki, Arnold, Capuozzo and Mauvaka, the Toulouse attacks became more precise and led to a 15-3 in the last quarter of an hour (29-22 final score). While depriving a Brennus Shield contender of the defensive bonus point.
If Yannick Bru’s men were in the lead for 65 minutes, it is partly due to the performance of the UBB forward pack. Much more powerful, they regularly gained the advantage line to undermine the Rouge et Noir defense. For his first under his new colors, Tevita Tatafu was excellent thanks to his activity despite a loose ball in his 22 meters at the end of the match (79th).
FLOPS
The poster, on paper, was promising; placed at the end of the World Cup, it had the aftertaste of a duplicate due to the host of absentees in both camps: if four internationals were present this Sunday evening (see above), thirteen were on leave including nine tricolors (Dupont, Ramos, Jaminet, Baille, Aldegheri, Marchand, Flament, Cros and Jelonch), without forgetting Romain Ntamack, injured. The Unionists, too, made the trip with a reshuffled squad: Penaud, Bielle-Biarrey, Lucu, Jalibert and Moefana were all missing.
The meetings follow one another and are similar for the Gironde club against its Haut-Garonne counterpart. It’s been more than two years since he won a single match against the French champion, and therefore suffered a fourth consecutive loss. The series continues until at least March 23 and the return match at Chaban-Delmas.
