LLast season, Stade Toulousain presented itself at Marcel-Deflandre with a very reshuffled team and the match was almost over at half-time (24-3, for 29-8 in the end). This time, Ugo Mola and his staff, keen to preserve their major players before the trip to the Sharks in the Champions Cup, had pushed the envelope even further: four elements, including two starters (center Lucas Vignières and full-back Thomas Alary ) had never played professionally.
In the starting team, other elements only had one appearance at this level (scrum half Simon Daroque and winger Célian Pouzelgues) or two (flyhalf Valentin Delpy and second row Efrain Elias) . Let’s talk age: eight Toulouse players on the sheet were 20 years old or younger, and only three were over 25 (Anthony Jelonch, Julien Marchand and the returning Cyril Baille). That’s an average age of just 22.4 years to face much more experienced maritime training.
“Incredible state of mind”
The various betting sites were not betting big on this team which included nine French Espoirs champions last season. And not many people expected that they would only be trailing by three points at half-time (12-9), having conceded a try just three minutes before the break. Because the Toulouse youth looked at their opponent eye to eye. And agreed to take on the challenge.
Like Delpy, who was assured against the posts and in the animation, or Vignières, who put Uini Atonio on the buttocks (28th), the young red and black shoots had guts. They increased the number of low tackles to quickly bring down the big players from La Rochelle and even offered themselves a sequence consistent with the house DNA by passing the ball from hand to hand. Under the loud encouragement of Jack Willis, present in the stands to accompany his partners.
The forwards coach, Jean Bouilhou, remembered “the heart, the self-sacrifice, the physical commitment” of his players who “responded more than present” and “who came to look for something here with an incredible state of mind “. Certainly, this team sometimes seemed to lack collective benchmarks and was not brilliant in their use of the ball. Of course, even with a consistent Baille returning after more than six months away, the scrum suffered. And it is difficult not to detect the weight of experience on the first and third tries conceded, with a blocked kick and a wait-and-see defense against Kerr-Barlow.
Taste of defeat
But how can we not imagine now a brilliant future for this young generation, who knew how to raise their heads and put their hands on the rhythm of the match during the last twenty minutes? Supported by the entries of the more experienced Jelonch, Marchand and Ange Capuozzo, they put the Rochelais under pressure, notably by candles. It ended up paying off with a strong try from Sialevailea Tolofua (19) for her first match and a cool drop from Delpy to equalize. “We tried to do simple things,” said the young opener.
The draw that was emerging was deserved a hundred times over. The irony remains that the mistake which gave La Rochelle the winning penalty was committed by Paul Costes, already 37 professional matches under the clock and who really did not need to deliver this shoulder blow to Jules Favre on the mermaid. For the players, collapsed on the field, this defensive bonus seemed to taste like defeat. But it holds promise for the future.
