Frustrated in the 78th minute of the Top 14 final on Saturday, Stade Rochelais failed to overthrow Toulouse, an opponent against whom it has almost systematically trampled in recent years.
“Three Brennus in four years is a good stat”. We knew François Cros strategist in touch, poison in the rucks, but, let’s face it, less adept at euphemisms in the mixed zone. The third line of Stade Toulouse is certainly going there with tweezers, but his team is at the beginning of a hegemony that will last for a long time. His victory in the final of the Top 14 against La Rochelle, Saturday June 17 in Saint-Denis (29-26), established Toulouse’s domination of the championship a little more. Three Brennus in four years, this is a performance from another century, which we had not seen since … Stade Toulouse itself, author of a four in a row between 1994 and 1997.
This 22nd title is not worth more than the others, but it has a special flavor. Let’s say it straight away, enjoyable. Because the Toulouse monster, not happy to have swallowed up a new trophy, did so by extinguishing the new rival from La Rochelle. Never crowned in the league despite two major wins – the last two Champions Cup – La Rochelle intended to disturb this appetite. But like almost every time, he failed.
Toulouse (almost) always superior
Past superlatives – “magnificent, incredible, exceptional” – to a season “just average”, according to his manager Ronan O’Gara, Stade La Rochelle failed to ward off fate. For the fourth time in a row, his dreams of Brennus were nipped in the bud by the same rival, each time innovating in the scenario. There was a jumble of dry learning in the half (6-20 in 2019), the gigantic drop of Cheslin Kolbe in the final (8-18 in 2021), the open door defenses in the barrage (28-33 in 2022) . There will now be the ride of Romain Ntamack, which strangely recalls a solo test already planted at the end of the match by the opener at Marcel-Deflandre, in September 2021 (16-20).
>> The video summary of the final
It was then a regular season game, but it was part of a sorry line for La Rochelle. In all, the caravel club failed 11 times in 12 confrontations against Toulouse, between April 2018 and October 2022, and if the series was broken last January (30-7), that was not enough to reverse the situation. curve in the final. “We showed that we could compete with them for 78 minutes”launched Grégory Alldritt in the mixed zone, in a sentence that says as much about the promises of La Rochelle as about their complex against Toulouse.
The “funny team” from La Rochelle affected
At the same time, the comforting tap of Ntamack – decidedly inclined to sneak behind the backs of the Rochelais in Saint-Denis – at the Rochelais third line, symbolized this respect of the Rouge et Noir for the Maritimes. “We came up against a funny team”explained, a few minutes earlier on France 2, the Toulouse rear Thomas Ramos.
“Very disappointed and very touched”, O’Gara had yet tied up a perfect plan to brand the future champion with a hot iron. On arrival, only his incessant vociferations and this Irish accent will remain, which have managed to resonate even stronger than the stands.
Two hours before this cruel outcome, like his Toulouse counterpart Ugo Mola – and President Emmanuel Macron – the Irishman was shouted down by opposing supporters when the teams were announced. The consequence, no doubt, of the spades exchanged at a press conference by the two managers, as if to spice up a final which was not lacking in it.
The new classic will offer other anthology matches
These “little stories in the big one” are, without a doubt, structural elements of the nascent but well-established rivalry. The Toulouse king, his titles galore and his recognized hand game, against the suitor from La Rochelle, with a record of achievements and keen on physical challenges. The opposition is perfect and has everything to last in a rugby traditionally marked by antagonisms of steeples then of stars. There was Béziers-Agen in the 1970s, Stade Français-Toulouse at the turn of the century, Toulon-Clermont over the last decade, and now there is Toulouse-La Rochelle.
The resentment and bitterness of the Rochelais after the meeting augur, without a doubt, new episodes of this saga. “We will save this frustration for next season and come back with a new plan”, swore O’Gara in the bays of the Stade de France. Beaten by the smallest gap in a Top 14 final since 2005, La Rochelle has never been so close to bringing the Brennus back to the Old Port. However, it will be necessary to wait – at least – another year for the transfer of power to be effective.