DECRYPTION – Bordeaux Bègles is playing the first final in its young history this Friday. Facing the title holders who are never satisfied.
For a few days now, on social networks, Toulouse and Bordeaux supporters have been launching the final. Cheerfully teasing each other. One dig particularly animated the exchanges, sometimes courteous, sometimes more scathing: «The Toulouse Stadium has more Brennus shields than UBB years of presence in Top 14.” The comparison, although ironic, is nevertheless real: 22 French championship titles compared to thirteen seasons in the elite for the Girondin club, with a recent history under this name since it was born in 2006 from the merger of Stade Bordelais and CA Béglais.
So, inevitably, when it comes to gauging the forces present before this final with a strong South-West accent, the club in red and black appears to be the big favourite, an assertion verified by taking a look at the unbalanced odds of the bookmakers (1.25 against 3.75). If there was any need to add more, one statistic is enough to scare Damian Penaud and his partners. Since the last act of the 2008 European Cup lost against the Irish of Munster, the Toulousains have won all the finals (9) that they have played. Adding three Champions Cups (2010, 2021 and 2024) and six national titles (2008, 2011, 2012, 2019, 2021, 2023) to their XXL list of achievements.
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We can see, in view of this gleaming series, that the new generation embodied, among others, by Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, is eager to enter the Toulouse legend as the most prolific. Already five trophies in the cupboard since 2019. And an appetite still not satisfied. « We are never jaded »confirms the opening half, on the verge of relegating the legend Emile (6 French championship titles, 2 European Cups) to the father of. « It’s even the opposite. The more titles we win, the more we want to win more. » With the composure of an old veteran at only 25 years old, Romain Ntamack adds. « Since the 2018-2019 season, we have been, at least, in the semi-finals of both competitions. With experience, we are managing these decisive matches better and better. With this maturity, we can be knocked around in the first half. There is never any panic in the locker room at half-time. We remain calm in all circumstances. »
A lack of freshness?
So it is not the poker move of the announcement of the starting XV of Girondins – or bluff, response to the kick-off this Friday at 9:05 p.m. – of the manager of the UBB, Yannick Bru, which will destabilize the Toulouse phalanx. Self-proclaimed forfeit until the end of the season after the relapse of his hamstring injury on the last day of the regular season of the Top 14, on June 8, Matthieu Jalibert is announced to return to the pitch of the Vélodrome of Marseille. Just like the pillar Tameifuna, nicknamed “Big Ben”, whose power will not be too much. « We obviously prefer to have them with us, but we don’t impose anything. It is the players who will decide. But they want to participate…” Knowing the temperament of the opener, it is a safe bet that he will indeed be present. To reassure his teammates, launch his offensive squad. And play a new episode of the series ”the best enemies” which he has shared the poster for a few years with Romain Ntamack. Which would not fail to spice up this final.
We are the Little Thumb. But in sports, anything can happen in 80 minutes. The outcome of a match is never written in advance.
Maxime Lucu
To rebalance it a little too. Because, in addition to the Toulouse experience of major events, the UBB also risks suffering from a lack of freshness. Since their coronation after extra time at the end of May against Leinster, the European champions have been put to rest. For some difficulties finding the rhythm in the semi-final against Stade Rochelais a week ago. A refresher to approach this final with full energy. On the Bordelo-Béglais side, on the other hand, it’s shooting from everywhere. During the play-off (against Racing 92), then the semi-final (against Stade Français), they declined physically over the minutes, tapping on the gauge hoping that the needle would not dip into the red before the final whistle.
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It would be a foregone conclusion, then, in a Stade-Vélodrome that does not suit the best player in the world. In Marseille, Antoine Dupont received the only red card of his career (against South Africa in 2022) before suffering, a year later, his serious jaw injury against Namibia, a fracture that thwarted the rest of his World Cup. “We are the Little Thumbsrecognizes the captain of the novices, Maxime Lucu. But, in sport, anything can happen in 80 minutes. The outcome of a match is never written in advance.” And this, even if one team is preparing to play its thirtieth French championship final and the other its first…
