History – 1991: Story of a coronation announced for Bordeaux-Bègles

Rarely has a final seemed so won in advance, even if the final score was not so overwhelming: 19-10 and two tries everywhere. We can explain: this 1991 vintage established an extraordinary team through its strength and its transience. That spring, the Bègles-Bordeaux-Gironde CA rose up, moved by a telluric force to sweep away everything in its path, a bit like these rogue waves which, without us understanding exactly why, come surging until they break the strongest boats.

Before this Bègles-Bordeaux – Toulouse final, in a searing interview about freedom, Bernard Laporte, a young 25-year-old captain, stunned us with his audacity by announcing: “We will not lose this match! We cannot lose it. We feel strong, we are very hungry”, freeing itself from the rules of false modesty.

Front line with shaved head

For several weeks, the Béglais were everywhere, objects of fascination for all the media at a time when the championship was less exposed. This team smelled a little like sulfur with scoundrel and exceptional personalities like this left pillar, Serge Simon, a doctor by trade, an intellectual who preferred to give than to receive. The first line Simon-Moscato-Gimbert-Vergé had the nerve to shave their heads to be even more terrifying and thus earn a nickname that has stood the test of time: “Les Rapetous”. She used and abused “turtles”, mauls set up like sheet music. Our little treat was seeing the clever mechanism operate to see Sébastien Conchy escape from it and run straight away with his hair blowing in the wind.

Obviously, the CABBG had the defenders of the offensive “beautiful game” against it. Bernard Laporte, with astonishing frankness, explained: “I don’t like line play. It requires too much individual technique, that we don’t work hard enough. … We would have a Blanco or a Sella, I’m not saying. But that’s not the case … Are my three-quarters happy? They have never complained, because they know that we play with our means. In Bègles we will never score a try from a winger with an interposed fullback, but the try from William Techoueyres. half wasn’t so bad.”

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Bègles 1991: the year of the turtle

Let’s sum up: never had a favourite emerged so quickly and so strongly. However, the Béglais had Toulouse in front of them. But it must be understood that the Stade Toulousain which stood tall was not, that year, a scarecrow: Christian Gajan, its coach, recognises it “Yes, we were coming off an average season. We had won the Masters in December 1990, but the rest of the season was more difficult.” The Toulouse residents had suffered injuries: “We lined up Olivier Marin and Bruno Dalla Riva in the third row, who were juniors. Michel Marfaing in the center, was 21 years old, Pierre Bondouy too.” Christian Gajan had drawn heavily from the Reichel camp that he himself had coached in previous seasons. The most incredible thing is that the Toulouse team experienced the final stages as outsiders: “In the quarter, we eliminated Narbonne against the predictions. In the half against Racing we narrowly passed, thanks to a drop from Philippe Rougé-Thomas which went under the bar. But the Racingmen had said nothing. Yes, We ended up in the final by a miracle.”

So yes, this 1991 final was above all the chronicle of an announced victory, a validation more than a triumph. It was symbolic, but not vibrant. It proved Bernard Laporte’s prophecy right. Bordeaux Bègles led 13-0 at the end of a first half folded like a schoolbag. With a four-point try in the rugby of the time, the deficit seemed irremediable.

The legendary Moscato pass

First try by Michel Courtiols after a high ball by Christophe Reigt, recovered by Régis Frentzel. Second try by Mougeot after a relay at the back of the touchline, imperial breakthrough by Vincent Moscato, concluded with a long pass that has become legendary. The game was less organized than today’s, but the shocks and the pushes in the scrum were favorable to the Girondins whose confidence was evident: “I think we were carefree, quite simply, we had the feeling that nothing could stop us, even though it was our first final and the wait had been long. From that match, I keep the memory of that touch that I recover at the back of the lineup, to serve Vincent Moscato before his famous pass. For a team that wasn’t making a play, it wasn’t so bad., remembers Philippe Gimbert, tough pillar of future international law. It was marked by a huge defeat for CABBG in 1989 at home against Toulouse in the round of 16 first leg, 47 to 3. A founding match which served as a spur to an entire generation. No more leisurely preparations.

André Berthozat, second line of duty, continues: “When we arrived, we saw the Toulousains lower their heads. We were sure of our strength. It’s incredible to say, but we felt strong, we weren’t afraid of anyone, and then we beat these Toulousains in the semi-final of Du Manoir.” This half, played in Agen on April 21, was a triumph, a manifesto of the power of Béglaise much more than the score indicated (12-3). It carried the seeds of the success of the final. Michel Courtiols, author of the essay that gave the lead, recounts: “It’s hard to explain, but from this final that I have never seen again, I am left with an impression of ease, with this feeling of never having been put in danger, and of serenely seeing the end arrive. Our rugby was not as polished as today’s, but we had so much certainty in our strengths. I still saw my try again, where nothing was announced.”

Michel Geneste, a former orthopedic surgeon, was the oldest of the group. “I don’t have a specific memory, I was in my bubble, I don’t even remember shaking François Mitterand’s hand. I didn’t have much to do, five balloons to catch, which I We didn’t miss when the final whistle blew, we had in mind what would have happened in the event of a defeat. So for us, this success was normal. we really celebrated that. No, what struck me the most was seeing an entire stand in the Parc Princes blue and white. Seeing all these people who had come, I couldn’t believe it. This is my greatest feeling.” Bègles had its core in Musard, but did not move the crowds. André Bethozat continues: “A sudden craze had started. We had to hide to train,” The idea that Toulouse had lost the match from the wing has been circulating for a long time. Christian Gajan denies it: “No, my players weren’t impressed, but let’s just say we were put to sleep at the start. We suffered a bit in the scrum, but look at the pictures. We weren’t ridiculous, we finished the match well. For me, it’s not a bad memory. I think the logic was respected, quite simply. Bègles had a huge collective with heavy forwards who knew how to move like Berthozat and Mougeot. Conchy also had gas. And then, their coach Yves Appriou was very good. He understood what kind of players he had on hand and he knew how to get the most out of them.” These Béglais have often been described as temperamental, which Bernard Laporte made climb the curtains. Marc Geneste uses this word, even if he felt a little removed from all that. Appriou and Laporte had set up a real war machine that could paralyze the adversary: ​​” Bernard, Serge, Philippe and Vincent brought something extra. With them, we were feared, that changed everything.” a close friend of the team once told us, who does not want to disrespect others. It was another rugby, less polished indeed, more hormonal. And the strength of this 91 title is that it has remained a “shot of a season”. The group then exploded in mid-air. The rogue wave fell back. Good for the legend.