At the end of a difficult week, Toulouse got back on track with an improved victory on the Lyon pitch (19-41) and did not let Pau escape at the top of the Top 14 ranking.
Toulouse had to respond on the pitch. While the French champions were left with an improbable defeat on the lawn of Glasgow in the Champions Cup and had been hit by a two-point withdrawal in the Top 14 standings, the trip to Lyon had everything to be a trap. But Ugo Mola’s players were able to respond to achieve a precious victory. If the opening of the score was early with a penalty signed by Thomas Ramos in the 3rd minute, we had to wait until the end of the first ten to witness the first major offensive movement from the Haute-Garonne players. At the end of a sequence of upwind play, Clément Vergé took advantage of a disorganized Rhone defensive curtain to forcefully flatten the first attempt of the match.
Except that the LOU had repartee and Camille Chat revived his team in the middle of the first act. On a carried ball having seen the Toulouse players make a mistake, the Rhodanians in turn constantly attacked the line and their hooker seized the opportunity to restart his team. However, the yellow card received by Dylan Cretin as the half-hour mark approached for a deliberate kick-in on an attempted interception did not help. While Benjamin Bertrand saw his first attempt in the Top 14 immediately refused, it was at the very end of the numerical superiority that Ugo Mola’s protégés found the solution.
Lyon made Toulouse doubt
At the end of an endless sequence of possession, Paul Graou followed a charge from Mathis Castro-Ferreira to recover the ball and go to queen without opposition. The transformation signed by Thomas Ramos allowed Stade Toulousain to return to its locker room with a ten-point lead. But, like last weekend in Scotland, the machine went wrong at the start of the second period. On an action initiated by a 50-22 found by Martin Méliande, the LOU continued to attack the Toulouse line and cause mistakes. Efforts which allowed Thomas Moukoro to force the passage and revive his team. In the process, after a missed clearance by Thomas Ramos, Jiuta Wainiqolo combined perfectly with Baptiste Couilloud after playing with the foot for his opening half.
The Fijian winger then showed his burst of speed to flatten the second Rhone try in two minutes. The LOU thus went from ten points behind to two points ahead… but its counter then remained stuck at 19 points recorded. With their backs to the wall, the Toulouse residents did not doubt for long. Coming out of the ball, Thomas Ramos took advantage of the disorder to find space in the Rhone defensive curtain. Paul Graou then followed to serve Joshua Brennan on a platter. Ugo Mola then decided to play his trump card with the entry into play of Antoine Dupont in the scrum as part of a large squad review. Very quickly, the French international gave the public at the Matmut Stadium in Gerland a cold sweat.
Dupont has relaunched its own
But he was certain that the dynamic of the meeting had changed. Shortly after the hour mark and while Baptiste Couilloud had to leave the pitch due to concussion protocol, Alexandre Roumat launched the Rouge-et-Noir steamroller. Present at the end of the line, the third row victoriously concluded the work of his teammates. A gap which grew further at the start of the last ten minutes thanks to Paul Costes. After Nelson Epée recovered the ball, Antoine Dupont saw the empty space behind the Lyon defense. Célian Pouzelgues was able to grab the ball within 22 meters of LOU before serving his cross for a try bringing Toulouse closer to the offensive bonus.
A fifth point which for a time was in the hands of the reigning French champions but a forward pass from Antoine Dupont to Léo Banos pushed the referee to cancel this try. However, the people of Toulouse did not stop pushing and it paid off beyond the siren. On a ball scratched by Antoine Dupont, the game of the Haute-Garonne club was able to unfold. Found acrobatically by Alexandre Roumat, Blair Kinghorn served Lucas Vignères on a plate to offer his team an improved victory (19-41). Toulouse takes the opportunity to come back to Pau, which keeps the lead in the Top 14 thanks to its success in the direct confrontation. Lyon, for its part, remains in 12th place after this second defeat in a row.
