La Rochelle can breathe! The Maritimes avoided major disappointment by winning at the wire against the largely reworked Toulouse team. If the level was not there, the suspense remained intact until the siren. The Rouge et Noir, who thought they could snatch a draw thanks to an impeccable Valentin Delpy, finally suffered a final penalty from Antoine Hastoy. Without shining, La Rochelle wins to return to the Top 6. Toulouse is 2nd, 3 points behind UBB.
A Toulouse youth full of desire
For a blockbuster to live up to expectations, the casting must be there. Saturday evening at Marcel-Deflandre, we had to forget Dupont, Ramos, Ntamack or Mauvaka. Between people from Toulouse who are as young as they are reworked and people from Rochelle who are messy like a team with a soft stomach, the show has long struggled to live up to the bill.
The freshness of the Toulouse team first highlighted the current faults of the Maritimes, 7th at kick-off and 11th best attack in the Top 14. To balls lost forward or lost on the ground by the locals, Toulouse responded with the taulier realism of the opener Valentin Delpy, 22, who punished the opposing defense three times in the first period.
But youth can also be costly, as in this hasty and blocked clearance by Simon Daroque, which led to Tolu Latu's quick try (14th). Or on this finally flamboyant action from Rochelais, to overtake the breathless Toulouse and send Oscar Jégou to queen (38th). Neither sovereign nor dominating, the Rochelais led by 3 points at the break (12-9), and that was the lesser evil.
Hastoy, an expensive composure
Upon returning from the locker room, the atmosphere remained dull in a Marcel-Deflandre event which was sold out for the hundredth time in a row. The Maritimes camped for 10 minutes at 5 meters, then Paul Boudehent saw his try refused for not having let go of the ball after a tackle. The Rochelais were offensive, including at 14 after Latu's yellow, but still empty-handed. We therefore had to rely on the experience and cunning of Tawera Kerr-Barlow to finally find the fault, quickly playing a penalty to flatten the left side (19-9, 62nd).
Courageous, carried by their entrants like Ange Capuozzo, the Toulouse residents thought they would spoil the party by finally giving themselves a strong try with Sialevailea Tolofua, for her first as a pro (70th), followed by a perfect drop from Delpy full axis to equalize (77th). But La Rochelle had one last cartridge to play, and Hastoy finally delivered an entire stadium by passing a penalty in the corner after the siren, to seal the victory for his team. Having come very close to a draw which would have been a task, the Rochelais moved up to 5th place in the Top 14. In the absence of content, we will have to be satisfied with the balance sheet.
