Toulouse have never played a match on South African soil. We will therefore experience a historic first in Durban for what will be a real international test.
Voyage in terra incognita. Toulouse will face the Sharks on Saturday in Durban. It is a historic event because it is the first time that the most prestigious club in France has traveled to South Africa for an official meeting. Ugo Mola’s men will therefore mark their rich history with a new milestone, it is the fruit of the arrival of the teams from the rainbow nation in European competitions in 2021 and 2022. The two teams have already faced each other in April 2023 but it was in Toulouse in the quarter-final, and Mola’s men won 54 to 20.
This trip to the shores of the Indian Ocean will take place in a special context. The people of Toulouse left last Sunday to acclimatize to the weather conditions of the Southern Hemisphere. They also wanted to go and pray on Tuesday on the beach near Cape Town where Mehdi Narjissi lost his life on August 7.
World Cup revenge
In Durban, they will obviously find a very strong team which counts in its ranks two “monsters” of modern rugby, Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth, as well as a series of internationals such as Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nché, Trevor Nyakanane, Vincent Koch, Lukhanyo Am. For the record, we recall that Eben Etzebeth has never lost against Toulouse whom he faced twice in the Toulon jersey, victory in April 2022 and draw in December 2019. After a month’s unavailability due to a concussion, he received the green light from the doctors. Conversely, Siya Kolisi lost three times out of three against Toulouse (twice with Racing and once with the Sharks already to Ernest Wallon in April 2023).
This Durban duel will therefore resemble a revenge of the last France – South Africa, fatal to the Blues during the World Cup. One thing is certain, in the country of quadruple world champions, the public is quite sensitive to the charms of the Toulouse Stadium, almost 40,000 people are expected at Kings Park Stadium. And that’s good, everything indicates that Toulouse has done the best possible preparation and will present the strongest team to strike a big blow, impose itself on this new mission land and secure first place in its group and therefore an eighth final at home. Yes, this Sharks – Toulouse, we will experience it as a quasi-international test.
