Player rating, which readers love, is a sometimes complex and paradoxical exercise. An example: how to define in a single number the match of David Ainu'u and that of Dorian Aldegheri?
The first suffered, like the entire first line, for half an hour but his versatility was a treasure throughout the match. The second, replacing at kick-off, entered on the right in the 28th minute, following coaching. A striking decision from Ugo Mola, who sought to quickly remedy the major difficulties encountered by his team in closed scrum. It was the left Rodrigue Neti who was sacrificed, Ainu'u then changing sides. The problem? This is because, six minutes after his appearance on the field, Aldegheri received a yellow card for his first test of strength and therefore his first (and last) fault. Clearly, he paid for the others, and for the accumulation of previous penalties. Unfair surely. But, in this context, it's hard not to take it into account when judging your performance…
And yet, since his return, Toulouse has no longer suffered in the scrum, in particular because Aldegheri remains quite a specialist. This is how coaching proved decisive. “It was a strong choice because, after that, we managed to stabilize our scrums and annoy them on theirsexplained David Mélé after the match. This made the difference in the conquest phases which were very complicated for thirty minutes.” And, if the Rouge et Noir played well in the second period, that had something to do with it. Which, even if Ainu'u and Aldegheri cannot reach the heights in the barometers, puts into perspective the crucial and often thankless importance of certain pillars.
