And in the end, Toulouse wins again. In a white-hot Ernest-Wallon stadium, the Rouge et Noir quietly won against Stade Rochelais (26-17), Sunday, October 23, at the end of the 8th day of the Top 14. The Toulouse stadium made the hole in the lead of the championship and leaves his evening opponent in third place in the standings.
In this gala poster of the French oval, the Toulouse stadium was well helped by the early red card addressed to the Rochelais pillar Reda Wardi for a charge in the shoulder in the head of Antoine Dupont (12th, 3-0) . In numerical superiority, the locals relied on an excellent Thomas Ramos. The replacement for Romain Ntamack, selected by Fabien Galthié but still too fair for the evening meeting, simply scored all of his team’s points.
TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: Reda Wardi’s red for this dangerous shock on Antoine Dupont #STSR pic.twitter.com/vsnx1xZHz5
– CANAL + Rugby (@CanalplusRugby) October 23, 2022
The Toulouse number 10 scored the first try of the game by receiving a candle from Dupont near the in-goal (21st, 11-3). Before unfolding at the foot with seven added penalties, so that the La Rochelle tries scored by Brice Dulin (52nd, 17-10) and Rémi Picquette (73rd, 23-17) did not change anything.
This victory against a direct competitor, the fifth in a row in the Top 14, the eighth in a row against La Rochelle, bodes well for Stade Toulousain, which must play its next matches with a squad cut off by no less than nine internationals, all invited to Marcoussis for the autumn tour of the XV of France. Thanks to this Sunday’s result, the Rouge et Noir have a comfortable nine-point lead over their new runner-up, Stade Français.
Quite the opposite of La Rochelle, also endowed with a good reservoir of Tricolores (six players called up with the Blues), but who are not reassured before the period of doubles, with a third defeat in a row away from home. In addition to a possible heavy suspension of Reda Wardi, the European champions have lost hooker Samuel Lagrange to injury.