Stade Toulousain: Dupont, Mallia or a surprise… who to replace Romain Ntamack at the opening against Pau?

The first real headache of the season for Ugo Mola and his staff. During the trip to Pau, Saturday evening (9:05 p.m.), they will in any case have to rack their brains when putting the Stade Toulousain lineup on the match sheet. And for good reason, the “red and black” will be deprived of their two key players in a key position: the opening. Romain Ntamack and Thomas Ramos will not be traveling to Béarn this weekend.

The first injured his calf quite seriously (tear) during the reception at Clermont on Saturday, and will be in the infirmary for almost a month. And we first thought it was an injury for the second after he too left his partners prematurely against the Avergnats because of pain in his hand. It was ultimately just a hit. But the full-back who regularly helps out at fly-half was granted a week’s vacation by the Toulouse staff. And for good reason, he has had a great start to the season. The only player on the squad who has started every match since the start of the season (6), he is also the top scorer in the Top 14 (96 points, including four tries).

In short, Thomas Ramos really needed to breathe, but the staff had not anticipated the injury to the elder Ntamack. Because the latter is the only professional fly-half in the Toulouse squad. Ugo Mola and the Stade decision-makers took advantage of the great versatility of the three-quarter line to find him a replacement when necessary. But ultimately they will not be spoiled for choice when it comes to traveling to Pau lands. Clearly, the number 10 position will be occupied by one of the two players who returned a few days ago against Clermont: Antoine Dupont or Juan-Cruz Mallia.

And why not Kinghorn?

The two men each provided guarantees when they evolved in this position. “Antoine, I like it when people explain to me that he’s the best 9 but he’s not bad at 10 either,” joked Ugo Mola last year about the French rugby star . As for the Argentinian, he was lined up in this position six times last season with the “rouge et noir” and always produced a particularly clean copy.

These two should therefore hold the rope unless Mola and his team pull out a third option… The latter leads to Blair Kinghorn. The Scotsman has played on numerous occasions with the 10 on his back with the XV du Chardon or his former club Edinburgh, but never with the “red and black”. This could be the chef’s surprise, especially since he has already proven a certain ease in his kicking and facing the poles… His time at the Heart of Midlothian training center, one of the most successful football clubs most prestigious in Scotland.

Deprived of its usual two, Stade Toulousain still has resources. It remains to be seen which of the three will be favored by the staff.