We are necessarily very happy. The match was hard: we had the title holder in front of us, we knew the quality of the Toulouse stadium. We really prepared very well during the week to be ready. To control what could be checked. Afterwards, we knew that we should fight from start to finish. Winning against Toulouse, it does not happen all the time in the final stages: we savor. But we also know that we must quickly switch to the top 14 next weekend. It’s very tight at the top of the table, you shouldn’t miss the check mark. All the arrival matches will be important for us with a view to the end of the season.
How much the beginning of the second period, notably with the test of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, was it important to you?
It is a very important moment because it quickly puts us in confidence. We knew that the beginnings of the second period did not succeed sometimes. We have holes, we worked a lot on that. In the locker room, we knew that we should be very present as soon as the resumption: the last 40 minutes were going to be the hardest. We prepared for that. The “loulou” test pushed us to continue playing.
Your team was very efficient in the floor game, especially at the end of the match. What allowed you to take over?
Aggressiveness! It was important not to let go, even if we made a lot of errors in the first period. Toulouse is a very good team in the phases of Rucks, we had to be there too. We have worked this sector a lot this week, it succeeded.
To what extent did your defeat in Top 14 against Stade Rochelais (10-21) did you serve to prepare for this meeting?
It has bitten us, inevitably, to lose at home: we kept that in us. We focused on the basics this week, where we sinned in front of the Rochelais stadium.
Does this qualification in the final mark a step in the construction of your group?
Inevitably, this is the first time that we have arrived in the Champions Cup final. But we also know that nothing is won: a big team awaits us, Northampton.
Yannick Bru spoke of the decompression of which you had been the victim before the final of the Top 14 last season. Did you tell you about it?
After this final lost to the Toulouse stadium (59-3), I think the whole group changed this summer. We missed the mark, perhaps because we were just happy to be in the final: everyone is aware of it.
Did Toulouse be your opponent served as a lever?
