Top 14 – “Toulouse, eternal youth”: the reigning champion was able to count on his young players to win the draw in Lyon

As of Thursday, at a press conference, Léo Banos announced the color: “We know what awaits us: a big match.” It was impossible to prove him wrong, given the context of this meeting. Certainly, twelve places separated the two teams before kick-off but we had to focus on the rest. Already, the absence of a majority of the bosses on the Toulouse side (see the figure below), as much as the shock brought to Lyon by the arrival of Karim Ghezal, in the hope of relaunching a positive dynamic.

Banos was precisely aware of this: “Lyon are not well positioned in the standings, they will be under pressure because they must win.” But the third also warned: “Even if there will be a certain number of young people on our side, we are going there to win. We want to do everything to remain first in the championship.” He, precisely, was therefore more responsible, like many Toulouse promises which are no longer there, who know how to respond every time they are expected. And it is surely not the start of the match which was going to contradict his words, as the Stadistes showed a lot of playing intentions from the outset.

This is how the first try for the Rouge et Noir, after a sublime collective action, came from a penalty quickly played by hand by Paul Graou, who himself concluded the action in the 9th minute . The tone was offered… And the sequel of the same ilk? On the desire to produce, yes, despite major difficulties in the air and certain unusual mistakes, particularly in alignment. The problem? This is because, in this sport, you also have to know how to be efficient. Even more so when there is a lack of executives with superior talent, those capable of turning a match around at any time.

The decisive entrance to the bench

Questioned during the first period at the Canal + microphone, manager Ugo Mola regretted: “Outside, you shouldn’t harvest too much.” The technician was referring to the missed kicks by Blair Kinghorn, the ball snatched from the arms of Clément Vergé three meters from the opposing goal or the forward by Naoto Saito on a highlight.

In these conditions, it's hard to live up to the ambitions, even if there was nothing to reproach the Stadistes in terms of commitment. This is how they no longer scored a single point in this meeting until the 60th minute (Kinghorn penalty). Allowing the Lyonnais to take the lead in the score. But, if there is an eternal virtue in Toulouse, it is that of always possessing resources. And the Stade sidelines were colossal, starting with the three “kids” on the first line (Bertrand, Lacombre and Hawkes). In their wake, the visitors came back to the level after Théo Ntamack's try (65th). Not enough to win and keep the leadership chair, but enough to still show how Toulouse's youth have bright days ahead of them.