EShe knew she had the label of outsider but she felt ready. The announcement of the tenure of Jalibert and Tameifuna, his two centerpieces, gave him that little boost of confidence on the eve of facing Stade Toulousain. But this Friday evening at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, Union Bordeaux-Bègles completely missed out on its first final (59-3). The bill is much saltier than the sardines in the Old Port. The Gironde club will still have to wait to touch Brennus. And he was able to see that even after breaking the glass ceiling of the semis, the last step is the highest of all. Especially against such an opponent, ready to bury your head underwater until the final whistle.
The people of Bordeaux saw the waves of Toulouse breaking and were unable to plug the gaps
Hope lasted 6 minutes for the Bordeaux team. Starving. What followed was a collective shipwreck on the shores of the Mediterranean. Constantly under pressure, the UBB never stopped falling behind, and saw the Toulouse waves come crashing down against which it was unable to plug the gaps. Yannick Bru’s men had to grit their teeth at the end of the matches during the play-off against Racing 92 (31-17) and against Stade Français (20-22) which they finished on the rims. Against Toulouse, the tank was visibly really dry from the start of the game, and the vehicle ended up on the concrete blocks.
Amorphous
UBB seriously lacked the power to counter their opponent. They received a lesson in the ground game battle, and only suffered the impacts of Toulouse, especially in their 22 meters, where the red and black forwards multiplied the passes after contact. Having opted for a bench with six forwards, they intended to compete in the fight against the Toulousains. It failed. Overwhelmed, they quickly multiplied the fouls and shot themselves in the foot at the start with Tatafu’s yellow card for a high tackle on Chocobares (6e).
The returns of Jalibert and Tameifuna were supposed to bring something extra. But the fly-half and the Tongan pillar did not weigh. The French international gave the opponent two balls away in the first half. His first miss was punished by Toulouse’s first try scored by Dupont (6e). And he played with too much restraint during the 57 minutes he spent on the field, probably fearing a relapse in his hamstrings. The Tongan international, so impactful throughout the season, was also struggling. Quite logical after a shoulder dislocation. He had to grit his teeth and saw the physiotherapists come to patch up what could be. At the 47e minute, the pain was really too much and he was forced to throw in the towel.
In the second half, the Girondins’ defense took on water from all sides. And the Bordeaux team finished the match having conceded 9 tries. The last one, scored by Capuozzo (80th), even sounded like a real humiliation. On the bench, manager Yannick Bru sighed in despair. This season, his team has come a little closer to the Brennus shield. But the gap separating them from a first title is still immense given what they showed in Marseille.
The notes
TOULOUSE
8/10 Ramos, Dupont, Mauvaka
7/10 Ahki, Kinghorn, Ntamack, Willis, Roumat, Cros, Flament, Arnold, Aldegheri, Neti
6/10 Mallia, Chocobares
BORDEAUX-BEGLES
5/10 Coleman
4/10 Cazeaux, Vergnes, Lucu, Bielle-Biarrey
3/10 Poirot, Lamothe, Tameifuna, Tatafu, Diaby, Jalibert, Depoortere, Moefana, Penaud, Buros
