The statistics were suddenly wiped out. The raised arms of the Bordelais, who fell to Stade Toulouse on its Ernest-Wallon lawn at the end of a thrilling match this Sunday evening, are worth all the figures. The thirty-three undefeated home games of the Rouge et Noir, the beating during their last confrontation, the championship final last June (59-3), have not weighed on the morale of a team full of talent and resources.
UBB therefore won (12-16) against a team undefeated since the start of the season, which seemed out of the category. Antoine Dupont, who ends his vacation with an immersion in American football in Los Angeles, will have the mission to avoid this type of disappointment when he returns to the squad at the beginning of October.
Rugby is beautiful when it is played like that. These songs of the balloon flying from hand to hand, this little music of the legs running through the spaces after the dull noises of the grip of the mountains. This South-West accent is beautiful, where the most beautiful scores of the moment are presented. Toulouse and Bordeaux are not only the two brightest students in the Top 14 currently. The two finalists from the last exercise also seem to be having fun in a tense championship where their rivals appear needy and clumsy in comparison.
This Sunday evening, there was something for everyone. The Toulouse people, at home, started strong. Full-back Thomas Ramos played against his opposite number Louis Bielle-Biarrey to offer Scottish winger Blair Kinghorn an international try with speed and movement after just seven minutes (7-0). No solo rider this time though. The response is dazzling. Bielle-Biarrey, barely 21 years old and already a lot of sparks under his belt, smokes Ramos and Capuozzo with a fake pass, navigates between the two and finishes behind the line (7-8, 19th).
Barely time to catch his breath when the Bordeaux full-back escapes along the touchline and passes to scrum half Maxime Lucu for a whirlwind try (7-13, 22nd).
In these high-level outbursts, the star openers, whose duel was long awaited, mainly tackled obscure tasks. Less brilliant than expected, Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert defended a lot but their feet shook. The Toulouse player missed a dismissal and a penalty, the Bordeaux player missed both conversions, all in the first period. The two openers of the Blues waited until the locker room returned to highlight themselves, in the same action.
Jalibert recovers a ball in the air, breaks through, finds Bielle-Biarrey who sends Reybier to try in the corner… slip a crampon on the touchline (61st). The turning point of the match? Mauvaka’s try on a carried ball (12-13, 70th) adds a touch of suspense to a match that was not lacking in it. The 55-meter penalty scored by Matteo Garcia seemed to end the proceedings five minutes from time. Too early. Last penalty at the siren for Toulouse. Final charges… For once, the people of Toulouse forget the open sea. They are punished. And beaten.
The points
Toulouse stadium: 2 tries from Kinghorn (7th), Mauvaka (70th), 1 conversion from Ramos (7th).
Bordeaux-Bègles: 2 tries from Bielle-Biarrey (19th), Lucu (22nd), 2 penalties from Jalibert (15th), Garcia (75th).
Related News :