As a curtain raiser to the Top 14 poster between Lou and Stade Toulouse, the Elite 1 meeting between the two women's teams took place. In front of the Canal + cameras but few spectators, the Toulouse women largely won (3-41).
Rugby was invited a little earlier than usual this Sunday evening on the encrypted channel. Lyon-Toulouse, poster of the Top 14, was on the program from 5:45 p.m. on Canal + Sport. The women of Lyon and Toulouse played at Gerland to raise the curtain of the meeting between their male counterparts.“That everyone can see what we do on a daily basis is great, I think it’s great”delivered, with stars in her eyes, Lyon center Noelia Pauls Guasch ahead of the match. The broadcaster has put in place a system similar to that of a Top 14 poster with, for example, a commentary duo with a journalist at the side of the pitch.
Cameras were also in the locker rooms of both teams to capture halftime speeches. It was possible to see Jean-Matthieu Alcalde, coach of the Louves, gather his team and express his anger: “If anyone tells me she’s tired, she’s a liar…”
Around 4,000 spectators
The reason for the Lyon coach's annoyance: his players returned to the locker room at the break trailing 34 to 3… In the rain, Toulouse, now third in the standings, imposed their power, with five tries scored against the eighth-placed team. of D1. In the second act, if the Lyonnaises managed to be more effective in defense and in the ground game, they remained devilishly ineffective in attack (3-41 final score). And they really couldn't count on the support of their supporters to score.
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The Gerland stands remained sparse throughout the match, despite the presence of a few Lou players who came to pass a header. Only around 4,000 people braved the cold, which is still more than during other Louves meetings. “It’s something important for the development of women’s rugby in the Lyon region. We’re going to keep that in mind”delivered post-match at the microphone of Canal + Charlotte Rufas, captain of Lou. This Top 14/Elite 1 duplication initiative had already been implemented earlier in the season, during the Clermont-Bordeaux. But the women had evolved by lowering the curtain, thus attracting more spectators.
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