“Not super interesting”, a Stade Toulousain executive not at all excited by the South African presence in the Champions Cup

Despite a 100% victory since the start of the Champions Cup, there is frustration at Stade Toulousain. Why, because this missing offensive bonus point in the victory against the Sharks cost the Rouge et Noir first place, with Bordeaux taking the lead after their enhanced success at Exeter. And for the last day of the group stage, the Haut-Garonnais no longer have their destiny in their hands to regain this first place since they will have to follow the result of the Bordelais against the Sharks.

For François Cros, this match in South Africa leaves big regrets because there was room to do better. Clearly. The third line shared a lucid analysis with our colleagues at La Dépêche. But in the end, we just have to give our best to finish, against Leicester, without being sure that it will be enough for first place.

It's the scenario of the match that leaves us with regrets because we really dominated, we had a lot of crossings, a lot of breaks. With two more actions at the bottom it was a guaranteed bonus. We lost control for the future, yes. We are going to do our best this weekend but it is certain that if the UBB takes five points we will be behind them. We are going to play this match without calculating, we will see then and if we have to move to the quarter-finals, we will have to give ourselves the means to win away.

South Africa in the Champions Cup? A very honest review from Cros

This match in South Africa leaves regrets but also a little bitterness, or incomprehension we could say, among the French international. François Cros admits again with full honesty that the logic of having brought the South African teams into the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup is a little hard to follow. And on several levels.

First of all, the name European Cup with South Africa is a bit strange. We are the opposite in terms of season, it generates a lot of costs also just for one match: we took four planes on the way out and three on the return! It also causes fatigue over the following week. I honestly don't find it very interesting. This trip is not the best memory we will keep…