Castres Olympique and Stade Toulousain discovered the Allianz Riviera this Thursday on the eve of the Top 14 semi-final. For its first semi-final in four years, the CO is dreaming of a fifth Brennus at the end of the season. Pierre-Henry Broncan and his players are ready.
What has your last 24 hours been like?
“We arrived in Monaco at the end of the morning on Wednesday. We trained on the grounds of Monaco Rugby. It was a little cooler than in Castres!”
while toulouse, you were able to make juice?
“I don’t think there’s too much fatigue when you’re in the finals, whether you’re playing a play-off or not. The recovery is much quicker than in the middle of winter.”
Are you worried about a lack of rhythm?
“We prepared well. We had a very good week. We had a full week.”
Is it still a derby when we play Toulouse in the half?
“The derby is when you go to play in Toulouse or Castres. We are on neutral ground, we are 80 minutes away from going to Paris. We didn’t talk about the derby but about the final.”
How to counter the Stade Toulousain machine?
“It would be disrespectful to Bordeaux or Montpellier. There is no good or bad draw. We already have a lot of work to do on us to perform.”
Is it possible to make an anti-Dupont plan?
“We make him eat Buitoni pizzas just before the game and he’ll be fine! Seriously, we’ll see on Friday evening.”
Do you use the two confrontations in the regular season?
“We take it into account, that’s for sure. Especially the first leg where we took 41-0. But the final phase matches are different. The pressure is different, the context is different. We keep in mind the knockdown received in Toulouse. It did us good for the rest of the season I think.”