Final of the Top 14 Stade Toulousain against UBB: finally beat Toulouse in the final phase to claim a first Brennus shield

A host of internationals will be on the pitch at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille this Friday. Union Bordeaux-Bègles is aiming for the first title in its young history, Toulouse a 23rd shield from Brennus. In rugby, the Girondin clubs win each time in the championship final against Stade Toulousain. Here are the main issues of this final.

Which players from Stade Toulousain or Union Bordeaux-Bègles will lift the Brennus Shield on Friday evening? Faced with the experience and track record of Toulouse, UBB will want to rely on the quality and enthusiasm of its three-quarters, and on its conquering forwards against Stade Français in the semi-final.

The Bordeaux players received a standing ovation from their supporters this Thursday, as they left for Marseille, where the final will be played on June 28.

Born in 2006 from the merger of the Stade Bordelais Université Club, winner of seven French championship titles (1899-1904-1905-1906-1907-1909-1911), and the Bèglais Athletic Club, champion in 1969 and 1991, the Union Bordeaux-Bègles is aiming for the first Bouclier de Brennus in its young history for its first final.

Opposite, Stade Toulousain has 22 French champion titles, the last two in 2021 and 2023, for 29 finals. The Hauts-Garonnais have also won six Champions Cups, the European Rugby Cup.

On the lawn of the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille, the UBB will be able to rely on its French internationals (Lucu, Penaud, Bielle-Biarrey, Moefana, Depoortere, Vergnes, Cazeaux, Lamothe), Tongan (Coleman), Japanese (Tatafu), Argentinian (Petti) or Georgian (Kaulashvili).
On the Toulouse side, the Blues’ biggest suppliers (Dupont, N’tamack, Ramos, Roumat, Cros, Mauvaka, Marchand, Flament, Aldegheri), also have a plethora of internationals with an Australian (Arnold), Argentinians (Mallia, Chocobares) , a Scotsman (Kinghorn), a Tongan (Akhi) or even an Englishman (Willis).

Absent side, the Tongan Ben Tameifuna will be missing from the Bordeaux first line, like the pillar of the XV of France Cyril Baille among the Toulouse. Stade Toulousain’s top try scorer Mathis Lebel is uncertain like international second row Emmanuel Meafou. Among the Bordelo-Béglais, Matthieu Jalibert is still unavailable.

This final pits the 3rd in the regular season, UBB, against the 1st, Stade Toulousain. To get to Marseille, the Girondins then had to eliminate Racing in the play-off (31-17) then Stade Français in the semi-finals (22-20). Toulouse, directly qualified in the semi-finals, passed the La Rochelle obstacle (39-23).

This season, the two finalists met twice, and each time, the home team narrowly won. During the 4th day, Toulouse got the better of UBB (29-22) in the final minutes. On the return leg, the Union enjoyed a prestigious 31-29 victory, scoring a whopping five tries.

These two teams shone both nationally and internationally. UBB was beaten 41-42 by English side Harlequins in the Champions Cup quarter-finals. The English were then beaten by Stade Toulousain in the semi-finals. Then Ugo Mola’s players won the competition against the Irish from Leinster. With a 23rd Brennus Shield now in their sights, the stadists are aiming for a new double, as in 1996 and 2021.

During the last Toulouse double, UBB lost twice in the semi-finals against Antoine Dupont’s teammates, 21 to 9 in the European Cup and 24 to 21 in the French championship.

In the Top 14, Stade Toulousain with 108 tries (average of 4 tries per match), and UBB with 86 tries (average of 3.07 tries per match) are the two teams having been the most in the championship. Two fiery attacks, with on one side Damian Penaud, two top scorers with 14 tries, on the other, Mathis Lebel, decisive in the semi and surely absent in the final, planted 10 tries.

On the scorer side, UBB has two scorers for this final: Maxime Lucu (108 points including 1 try) and Mateo Garcia (106 points, including 1 try). HAS Toulouse, it is Thomas Ramos, as in the French team, who takes the goal (135 points, including 3 tries).

In this meeting, there will be huge duels at all four corners of the field. To win, UBB will once again have to rely on the native of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Maxime Lucu. A major asset in recent seasons, the scrum-half was breathtaking against Stade Français. Facing him on Friday evening stands the best player in the world, the one who shines at both XV and VII, Antoine Dupont. The two best number 9s in France will undoubtedly engage in a huge duel. If the Basque manages to reduce the impact of his counterpart and be as brilliant offensively as against Racing and Stade Français, all hopes are allowed for the UBB.

Another duel, opposing the two number 15s, the Landais Romain Buros, excellent all season, always very fair in his game, author of great breakthroughs, including a try in a play-off against Racing and very comfortable in the line of three -quarters of the UBB, and Thomas Ramos, the scorer of the France and Toulouse team. The latter, a little less good since the last World Cup, particularly in his receptions in the air, will want to show, at 28 years old, that he remains the reference for the position in France.

Third duel to follow, that of the heels: Maxime Lamothe against Péato Mauvaka. With 7 tries this season, including two in the semi-final against Stade Français, Lamothe was a strong offensive asset for the Bordelo-Béglais. The Bordeaux mauls are all the rage, with the conclusion as against Racing. Facing Maxime Lamothe, it is the starting hooker of the French XV, very good during the World Cup, and one of the best in his position in the world, Péato Mauvaka. Very good in scrum, ball in hand and with his forwards, Mauvaka has been shining for several seasons at Stade Toulousain. In the final, this duel could also be decisive.

For its first Top 14 final, the UBB can also rely on historical statistics. Stade Toulousain has never won in the final of the French championship against a Gironde team. Of his 7 French championship finals lost, of the 29 he played in, three were against Gironde teams. In 1909, it was Stade Bordelais which lifted the trophy, a victory (17-0) with five tries scored.

In 1969, the Béglais Athletic Club won in Lyon against Stade Toulousain with a score of 11-9. And the last Gironde title was that of the Moscato band, Serge Simon and Bernard Laporte in 1991 with the “famous Béglaise turtle” (19-10). Friday evening, the UBB will be keen to continue this series, 33 years after the coronation of the CABBG