Aware before the match that his team’s game was far from successful despite the three inaugural victories, Stade Toulouse manager Ugo Mola now wants the home defeat against Union Bordeaux-Bègles, this Sunday evening, to serve catalyst for the rest of the season.
You were undefeated for two and a half years at home. Is it a surprise to see you fall?
It’s not that surprising in the match. We came across the Bordeaux team who played hard. We sorely lacked realism and the ability to score. When you score twelve points at home, you can’t really claim to win a match.
How can we explain the many Toulouse mistakes?
We had a good start to the match, with ten conclusive minutes. Afterwards, there was a succession of faults which allowed the Bordelais to get back into the match. Three penalties in a row, a direct dismissal, a missed touch… But a match is made up of errors, strong moments and weak moments. Our highlights were not transformed into points. We ended up in the opposing goal three times without scoring, it seems to me. Against this kind of team, we can’t afford not to score.
You were also heckled in the ground game…
Yes, especially on our possessions. We were unable to adapt to the refereeing which was rather harsh until the last action. It is a path to progress. We are only in our eighth week. We had identified that this was not successful in our game despite the positive results.
Have you already planned on the trip to Castres next Saturday, in your words at the end of the match?
It was only the fourth day, a lot more will happen. We’re going to go to Castres, for a derby that’s perhaps less exciting than a few years ago. The match will happen quickly. We are starting a new block, with four matches before our internationals leave us.
What did you think of the intensity of this meeting?
I would have liked it to hit a little harder. I wasn’t dazzled by the physical intensity. It still remains an early season match, at least on our part, because I’m going to be careful not to talk about the opposing team. It must be recognized that it was very effective. And again, there is a ball, on one of our possessions, where we can take another try on the counter. We paid dearly for the move to fourteen in the first half, but we were never able to string together three positive actions in a row. We had the feeling that we had never really started our meeting. However, when we continued, we scored. We perhaps also lacked this ability to take points at the start. We have work to do. Many saw us as beautiful or unbeatable, prancing in the lead. We fell into line. This will please a lot of people, and I won’t hide the fact that I don’t mind it either.
