In stoppage time of the match, when the match had been over for a long time, Stade Toulouse displayed in XXL size the reasons why this club is not quite like the others. A final attempt of a hundred meters, signed Ange Capuozzo, which will go down in history.
The siren has already sounded for a little over a minute when Peato Mauvaka, on a pass from the right pillar Merkler, inherits this last ball in his in-goal. One last piece of ammunition once again dropped by the Bordeaux-Bègles players, as a symbolic summary of the meeting. At that moment, the hooker could have cleared directly into touch and started celebrating the Stade’s twenty-third Brennus Shield, by lighting a cigar with its president Didier Lacroix. Not the house type. In Toulouse, the game is sacred. A counter-attack ball takes care of itself, it takes care of itself. Above all, it doesn’t get used up. Whatever the score and the context. Then, in a moment of euphoria, the international hooker, after having taken visual information about his exterior, begins a race, taking care to pass between the posts, like a skier at the start of his giant slalom crosses the starting gate. He first gets rid of a first tackle, that of the hooker replacing Clément Maynadier. Almost too easily. He is caught following by the courageous Maxime Lucu but manages to pass on to his… direct competitor, Julien Marchand.
“I had the goal in my sights, I had to go there… it’s a hell of an adrenaline shot”
It’s over, the Bordeaux players will never see the ball again. Because it’s going fast, too fast. Paul Graou is at the relay, less than a second before the ball lands in the hands of Ange Capuozzo. The ball burns the hands of the Toulousains. It twirls. What happens next? Sweet madness. In a blazing Vélodrome stadium, the winger accelerates before starting a return to the inside to better make Damian Penaud doubt, then in pursuit. A small hook for great damage. Exhausted, the UBB winger, although supersonic, can do nothing to prevent the ex-Grenoblois from running into the corner to score his team’s ninth try. Great art. “This try is incredible because it shows our state of mind and our playing identity, smiled the Italian international the day after his feat. I admit that I only had one idea, which was to go there and finish the action. I had the goal in my sights, I had to go there, and it was a hell of an adrenaline shot. I discussed it a lot with my family afterwards, but for about half an hour after the final, I had the feeling of being knocked out, of having my eyes in a fog… It was an incredible moment, which describes a bit of everything we’ve done this season. It was nice to be able to all participate in the party, to be on the same level.”
Do not, above all, see in this final offensive the desire of Toulouse to push the heads of the Bordeaux team even further under water. No. Here, it is a question of culture. A culture of winning and a quest for records. This generation wants to mark the history of the club but also of French rugby. It is written in the past, the present and also the future. “This quest for records and exploits drives this team, confirmed manager Ugo Mola. When they commit, they achieve their intentions. What I like is the path and the content.” And it still seems long…
