Stade Toulousain: Bertrand, Lacombre, Hawkes… how did the young stadium players score points against Lyon?

“It’s one of the big positives of the evening,” is how David Mélé, the assistant coach in charge of skills, summed up the performance of the young stadium guard on Sunday in Lyon (17-17). It must be said that the former scrum-half knows what he is talking about. It is he who is in charge of the hopeful group within Stade Toulousain. We can imagine his pride when he saw the level at which his protégés had evolved in the hostile land of Gerland.

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The three front row players who replaced at the hour mark, David Ainu'u, Peato Mauvaka and Joël Merkler had a lot to do with the two points brought back by the Stadistes. “I saw Thomas Lacombre who was playing his second match (3rd, Editor’s note) in the Top 14 and who is having a great comeback, Benjamin Bertrand as well but also Malachi Hawkes… For a very young front line, they did a great job,” he enthused.

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And he wasn't the only one. No observer, whether in the stands at Gerland or in front of their television, could remain indifferent to the performance of the first three young players, aged 21, 20 and 22 respectively.

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Not clumsy with ball in hand

Like this long Lyon pounding session in the final moments of the match. For more than five minutes, the Stadistes defended tooth and nail five meters from their line without ever giving in. Bertrand, Lacombre and Hawkes did not escape, just like in the final “red and black” offensive phase, during which all three of them showed off their ball-in-hand technique and their ability to break tackles.

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A performance which will make David Mélé say: “We can see that the youth are growing at the Stadium and putting in good performances. It’s up to us to continue to feed off this emulation. » The “elders” have been warned.