Bordeaux’s bluff before the Top 14 final: Ugo Mola’s (Toulouse) response

On the Bordeaux-Bègles side, while they were announced to have withdrawn recently, Ben Tameifuna and Matthieu Jalibert could finally compete the Top 14 final against Toulouse in Marseille on Friday June 28 (9:05 p.m.).

Some see it a nice bluff from Yannick Bru, in line with what the ex-wizard of Toulouse, Guy Novès, was capable of doing. Asked about this situation, the manager of the Rouge et Noir, Ugo Lineremained rather unmoved, believing that his group had focused above all on itself.

Mola responds to UBB’s bluff

“We didn’t really care about the opponent’s line-up. We were more concerned about our own,” Ugo Mola said very simply. “Then, the bluff or no bluff aspect, with a line-up announced the day before, pffff… Another time, it would seem that it could have worked,” Mola continued, aware of the comparison with the Novès method.

And then, the Toulouse manager felt that there was “perhaps no bluff” on the part of UBB. “Bordeaux has players who will test themselves until the last moment. This is the lot of all teams, as long as your managers can play. We start from the postulate that those who play are 100%. And if you’re not 100%, you can’t take the place of someone who’s 100% in that group.”

Dupont on the presence of Jalibert

The scrum half and captain, Antoine Dupont, was in the same vein: “Honestly, we didn’t necessarily pay attention to that this week. We focused on ourselves.” He continued:

Whichever team is fielded, we know what UBB is capable of. They are a complete team, capable of winning in different ways. No matter what players she has, she plays pretty much the same way every time. We know Matthieu’s qualities. He’s a player we should be wary of, but like the entire 3/4 line I want to say.

Absentees in Toulouse

If Toulouse focused so much on itself and did not scatter, it is because the reigning French champion had to deal with his personal ups and downs. Ugo Mola admitted to several absences in the Haut-Garonnais ranks for this final.

“Matthis Lebel will not be there, Piula Faasalele has 3 broken bones and will be out. Cyril Baille has been operated on and re-operated on since the semi-final against La Rochelle. He returned home on Wednesday. We had our share of injuries, and we focused on ourselves.”

Important elements which will leave room for others. And given the quality of the Toulouse workforce, the solutions are numerous. Even among the youngest. “We have young people who deserve to play, and if Matthis, Piula and Cyril are absent, it will open the door for some. It’s like for me, or Didier Lacroix, in our time: we played through the game of injuries.”

It’s true that Ainu’u, Brennan, Vergé, Castro Ferrera and other Costes showed great things when the Toulouse staff called on them this season.

Clément MAZELLA, special envoy to Marseille

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