Mathieu Warnier, Media365: published on Saturday May 4, 2024 at 4:20 p.m.
While Toulouse faces the Harlequins on the Stadium lawn this Sunday in the semi-final of the Champions Cup, Antoine Dupont assured that this match was for him only a step towards his objective, which is victory in this competition.
Stade Toulousain has its destiny in its hands. This Sunday, in front of their stadium audience, Ugo Mola’s players will meet Harlequins in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup. But, after the failures of 2022 and 2023 against Leinster, Antoine Dupont and his teammates intend to take another step towards a sixth star, they who remain on an overwhelming success against Exeter. Present at a press conference after the last training session, the Toulouse captain confided that “it’s always a lot of pleasure, excitement and pride to be in the last four”, assuring that “this rewards the work done throughout. throughout the season. However, the international scrum-half assured that “it will have been for nothing” if there is no victory this Sunday against the London team. In order not to experience a third disillusionment in a row, Antoine Dupont intends to draw on previous failures. “We know the disappointment that this represents,” he recalled. “This year, the team put itself in the best conditions by having given itself the means to host this half. We hope to go one step further. »
Dupont: “It’s up to us to continue to mark the history of the club”
Ahead of the meeting, Ugo Mola made no secret of the fact that this generation of Stade Toulousain has not taken the place that should be theirs in the history of the club. An observation validated by Antoine Dupont, who has the impression that his team has “the potential to still win”. “Even if we were lucky enough to win a few titles, we lost some too,” adds the Toulouse scrum-half. We have even more experience than what we had a few years ago with almost the same players, others who joined us with a lot of qualities and a different experience to win. This potential is only verified when we lift a trophy, so it’s up to us to continue to mark the club’s history. » For this match against Harlequins, the captain of the Rouge-et-Noir assures that “the approach is necessarily different”, linked to the fact of playing at home rather than on hostile soil. There is also the desire to leave behind the last success in the semi-finals, obtained against Bordeaux-Bègles in the particular context linked to the coronavirus crisis.
Dupont: “Every season is different”
“It wasn’t our best match but we managed to be serious and dominant at the end,” recalled Antoine Dupont. Afterwards, we don’t pay too much attention to it. Every season is different. » But this semi-final will mainly be between two teams who have already crossed paths during the group stage, with great success at the Stoop for the reigning French champion. However, the Toulouse captain assures that the situation will not be the same. “A lot has happened since then. They have gained confidence from all their latest results, they have scored a lot of tries each time, confided Antoine Dupont. I think they also learned from this defeat at home. In the final phase, the teams manage to have extra spirit and raise their level of play in all sectors. We expect to face the Harlequins team which beat Bordeaux-Bègles more than the one from December. » Distrust will therefore be required when entering the Stadium pitch.
