Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Saturday January 4, 2025 at 11:10 p.m.
For its 100th consecutive sold-out match, La Rochelle narrowly avoided a snub against a very rejuvenated Toulouse team with a victory snatched after the siren (22-19).
La Rochelle almost fell into the trap. Before a trip to South Africa as part of the Champions Cup, Ugo Mola decided to leave most of his starters rested or on the sidelines. The result was a starting fifteen made up of players from the training center, some of whom had never experienced the Top 14. But, at the end of the suspense, it was the Maritimes who had the last word, by very little. A 100th consecutive sold-out match at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre that the Rochelais started with the desire to bite the ball. Ronan O'Gara's players took control of events but, although they occupied Toulouse's half of the field, they could not find the fault. A status quo completed shortly before the quarter of an hour of play with good inspiration from Oscar Jégou. Managing to block the clearance at the foot of Simon Daroque, the third row of the Maritimes allowed Tolu Latu to recover the ball and then go to queen in the corner against a disorganized defense of the reigning French champions. A try which was not transformed by Ihaia West. The Haut-Garonnais suffered the blow before causing a foul on the ground in the middle of the first act. Facing the poles, Valentin Delpy did not tremble to score the first three points at Stade Toulousain. The Rochelais lacking edge, they made themselves vulnerable and Tolu Latu was caught by the patrol, not having left the tackler-tackle zone after his intervention. This time 40 meters from the target, the Toulouse striker was able to reach it to give his team the advantage just over ten minutes before the break.
La Rochelle in control for a long time
Valentin Delpy did it again five minutes later but it was the Maritimes who had the last word in this first act. Just before the siren, Grégory Alldritt was able to speed up his team's play to beat Oscar Jégou. The third row was able to take advantage of this gap to flatten his team's second try at the foot of the posts. This time, Ihaia West made no mistake with the transformation to give La Rochelle three steps ahead when returning to the locker room. The New Zealand striker did not return to the field, Antoine Hastoy taking his place when Ugo Mola launched Sialevailea Tolofua in the third line in place of Théo Ntamack. The start of the second period was marked by a succession of scrums lasting no less than four minutes, without this leading to play. The Toulouse bench then opted to launch its first replacement line as well as the experienced Anthony Jelonch. The Maritimes found themselves in difficulty when, eleven minutes after the restart, Tolu Latu received a yellow card after an irregular clearance on Simon Daroque, who immediately gave way to Ange Capuozzo. The three-quarter then occupied an unusual position as a scrum-half. Despite one less player on the field, the Rochelais were able to keep the ball in hand. Efforts which ended up paying off just before Tolu Latu returned to the pitch. At the end of an action initiated by a charge from Levani Botia, who had just entered in place of Judicaël Cancoriet, a penalty five meters from the line was whistled in favor of the Maritimes.
Toulouse missed the hold-up
With mischief, Tawera Kerr-Barlow played it quickly and played against a Toulouse defense that was too tender and not positioned to flatten it at the foot of the posts. Antoine Hastoy then made the transformation to give his team a ten-point lead as the last quarter of an hour approached. Wanting to get the defensive bonus and deprive their opponents of the offensive bonus, Toulouse became emboldened at the end of the match. An attitude which increased the tension on the pitch of the Stade Marcel-Deflandre but which ended up paying off. On a touchline five meters away, the ball carried by Haut-Garonnais pushed back the La Rochelle defense and Sialevailea Tolofua seized the opportunity to try, transformed by Valentin Delpy to bring his team back to just three points. An enthusiasm that has not stopped there. While Nelson Epée found a way to show his speed on the right wing, he was unable to go all the way. The support that arrived late, however, allowed Valentin Delpy to put himself in a drop position three minutes from the siren. Served by Ange Capuozzo, the young scorer for the Rouge-et-Noir did not tremble to put the two teams back on level terms. With a try that would assure them a five-point victory, the Maritimes threw their last strength into the battle. After the siren, the Toulouse defensive curtain made a mistake. Antoine Hastoy then took responsibility by asking for the posts. The international striker did not tremble and offered his team a narrow victory (22-19) in a tight match. La Rochelle thus moved up to fifth place when Toulouse let UBB go at the top of the ranking, now three points behind the leader of the Top 14.
