Top 14 – Billy Vunipola likes to play it safe, Ronan O’Gara is not gentle with Georges-Henri Colombe… The top declarations from the sixth day

Starting again with a match like that, it’s nice

Antoine Dupont took care of his return to school with Stade Toulouse. The international scrum-half was back on the field, after his enchanted Olympic break. And it only took 12 minutes for the native of Castelnau-Magnoac to remember his opponents with a hat-trick. After the match, at the microphone of Canal +, the captain of the France team confided that he was eager to make his return. “I was able to enjoy the holidays, but every time I came back to training with my friends, it made me want to be on the field at the weekend. I knew that I would have a good period to recover and that afterwards I would be able to get back to it fully so that’s why I arrived with enthusiasm on Monday for training. To start again with a match like that where there was a lot of desire, a lot of movement, a lot of content on our part, it’s nice.”

The Rochelais had their heads down

Bayonne has finally broken the curse of Anoeta. The Basques who had never won, in the San Sebastian stadium, since their return to the Top 14, defeated the Stade Rochelais, at the end of a match controlled from start to finish, with a spectacular try from Sireli Maqala. At a press conference, Grégory Patat, the Rowing coach, admitted not expecting such domination. “We were surprised because we managed to move on, to undermine the Rochelais on collisions. I found that the Rochelais had poor “body language”, after taking tests. Their heads were down, that’s not their habit. We knew how to keep the pressure on. If we take tests on their high points, it can redistribute the cards, but we were resilient in those moments.”

I like to play hold

At the bottom of the ranking, Montpellier defeated Vannes in a suspenseful match. To win, the MHR was able to count on a remarkable match from Billy Vunipola. The third line international center, discovers, in France, the fight to maintainhe who was used until then to play leading roles with Saracens and England. A situation which does not seem to frighten the English number 8. “This may surprise you but… I really like it. Because I think it brings out the best in me. I hope this helps the team. The pressure of having to perform every week is good for me. I think the more we overcome these challenges the better we will be as a team.”

We never plan to take 35

This Sunday evening, the Stade Français experienced a dark evening in Lyon. Dominated in all sectors, the Parisians appeared without a solution against Lou. Laurent Labit’s men are sinking a little deeper into the crisis, a week after the departure of Karim Ghezal. At the microphone of Canal +, the left pillar, Clément Castets returned to his team’s bad patch. “We never plan to take 35. When we go somewhere, it’s to win. Now, like all the other teams in the championship, we work hard and I think in this kind of negative cycle, it’s not There is no other solution than to work a little harder. We have to eat our black bread, work, lower our heads and then maybe things will work out. But maybe we won’t. maximum on our side.”

Dove over the last six months, he is fourth right pillar

It was the transfer news of the week, Georges-Henri Colombe has signed up for four seasons at Stade Toulousain. News that irritates his manager Ronan O’Gara. At a press conference, after his team’s rout at Anoeta, the Irish technician took the opportunity to clarify his player’s situation. “I have no official news. I had offered something for him, but over the last six months, he has been the fourth right pillar. There are a lot of positive things in France, but when you are number 3 and JIFF, it’s difficult. If it doesn’t work here, it will work in Toulouse. If it doesn’t work in Toulouse, it will work in Toulon, Castres, Racing or Bordeaux. He has all the cards. For me, as a father, and with the example of justice, there is Uini (Atonio), Aleksandre (Kuntelia), Joël (Sclavi) and him.”