the essential
Dominated last January at home by Stade Toulousain (24-48), Ulster will this time travel to Ernest-Wallon to mark the start of the group stages of the new edition of the Champions Cup on Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m.).
Ulster will start their 2024/2025 Champions Cup campaign with a very big bang. Sunday afternoon, the Irish club will face Stade Toulousain, defending champion and current leader of the Top 14 championship, on the Ernest-Wallon pitch (2:30 p.m.). A huge challenge awaits the visitors, who have two consecutive defeats before their trip to the Pink City.
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“Excitement? Maybe! Fear? No doubt” declared Richie Murphy, Ulster coach, at a press conference about the confrontation between these players and Toulouse, crowned six times in the competition. “It's the entire French team, isn't it? We're going there to play and we have no illusions about the difficulty of the task. So we'll go there with the good attitude, to play rugby and, I hope, score a few tries” he said full of hope. “We have to stay in the match as long as possible and put them under pressure, but I don't have the impression that the pressure is on us this weekend,” said the 50-year-old technician.
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The latter is preparing to face “the best team in Europe”, but has also identified gaps into which his players will try to rush. “If you look at their squad, they probably have two or three internationals in every position, but there are areas of their game where you can see opportunities, but the question is whether you are good enough to take them” Murphy detailed.
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“A challenge that we look forward to”
Also present at the press conference before the trip to the south of France, scrum half Nathan Doak did not hide his excitement at the idea of challenging the reference for the position: Antoine Dupont. “That's what we play for. When you see the new Champions Cup balls come out, you know you're playing against Toulouse. Playing against players like Antoine Dupont is something you want to be a part of and It’s a challenge that we look forward to,” said the 21-year-old.
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Before giving his view on his future opponents: “They have talent throughout the team. […] They are a class opponent and it is like a test match against them with the number of internationals. Personally, I'm looking forward to it.” And why not do it? “A big victory can be a game-changer. If we win this week or next week in Europe, our season can be very different,” he discreetly confided.
