Author of a magnificent 13 out of 14 in the sector, Toulon once again shone in the aerial domain. The alignment was especially able to surprise the LOU with a touch of ten which allowed a decisive maul.
Every week, the Top 14 staff spend hours dissecting the opposing defensive flaws. Passionate about video and analysis, Sergio Parisse used the blackboard to unlock a hand-made test during Toulon – Lyon.
Around the half-hour mark, following Blanc-Mappaz's yellow card (guilty of collapsing a first maul), Toulon returned to a penalty. Five meters from the line, the Var alignment was reinforced by its two centers: Mathieu Smaïli and Antoine Frisch. The first placed himself at the start of the alignment, while his friend closed the zone. Outnumbered, Lyon took the gamble of waiting on the ground. Ribbans caught the ball in the middle of the lineup.
At the moment of the catch, the pair of centers took two steps back and put themselves in a waiting position while Baubigny took control. It was at this precise moment that the duo came to surround the hooker to create a second decisive momentum.
Captain of the sidelines with Ollivon, Esteban Abadie agreed to decipher this unusual combination. “The coaches saw something this week. The idea was to put our two centers to have the numerical advantage inside the maul. That's what happened. The three-quarter centers brought their power in a second time we found ourselves at 9 or 10 against 7 (10 against 6 in reality, Editor's note). The third row continued: “We wanted to try it again in the second (laughs). It didn't work. Lyon was able to adapt by putting more players in and bringing out their physical density, but it's already great to conclude a collective blow like that.”
