The unfortunate finalist of the last exercise showed an attractive face to Ernest-Wallon before coming together to sign a major feat and take their revenge.
The first Toulouse try scored by Blair Kinghorn in the 8th minute of play was enough to make the Gironde supporters tremble, while their protégés had to play outnumbered after the youth card received by Ugo Boniface a minute earlier. The fear of a new lone rider of the French champions was then great, bringing back bad memories. But Yannick Bru and his men had reiterated that they were not living in the past, that the “update” had been carried out in the words of the manager, urging his men to simply show a better image on the Enerst pitch – Walloon where the UBB had never imposed itself.
This certainly helped the Bordelais not to panic, to remain faithful to their desire to carry the ball, to move the game. Helped by the yellow card received by Blair Kinghorn in the 17th minute, the teammates of tightrope walker Louis Bielle-Biarrey managed to reverse the trend in less than fifteen minutes to lead 13-7 in the 22nd minute of play. A score which had not changed at the break. A score which still did not change for 30 minutes in the second half. The Bordelais were entitled to the showdown they had dreamed of in Marseille. They even had the ammunition to make the Toulouse residents bend a little more. It was a real summit of the Top 14 between two teams who will fight for direct qualification for the semi-finals next spring.
Recruits in sight
The Bordeaux-Bègles Union above all demonstrated that it was better equipped to advance in this marathon, that it was capable of leaving players like Damian Penaud, Romain Buros and Nicolas Depoorter “in regeneration week” while looking straight into the eyes of Toulouse residents. The rule of nine which drives Yannick Bru, since nine changes had been made to go to Lyon, just like for this shock at Ernest-Wallon after great successes at home, demonstrates that this team has gained depth and that she can definitely play her luck despite rotations in her squad. Jonny Gray quickly reassured everyone about his state of form, Temo Matiu will be one of the attractions of this season, Rohan Janse Van Rensburg has fire in his legs, Arthur Retière will be invaluable in this long marathon.
And what can we say about Tevita Tatafu, returning from selection after the restart who is definitely gaining momentum, capable of contesting this last ball to offer victory to his team at the end of a last defensive sequence where the Gironde collective was heroic. A final sequence which will remain in the memories and skyrocket the confidence of the Bordelais who demonstrated, beyond simple words, that they had definitively evacuated the trauma of Marseille. They can now see far, far away after this majuscule feat.
