Stade Toulousain secured its place in the Top 14 final by crushing Racing 92 (71-17). Masterful performance on one side, invisibility on the other… Discover the tops and flops of RMC Sport.
Two teams, two atmospheres in the locker room. Opposed in the Top 14 semi-final this Friday evening at the Marseille Vélodrome, Stade Toulousain crushed Racing 92 (71-17), who did not find the weapons, unlike the Toulouse who showed themselves to be more than solid from the first minutes. After the stadium victory, RMC Sport presents its favorites and its rants.
The tops
Dupont becomes SuperDupont again
Like a premonition, Antoine Dupont trained this Thursday with a TFC jersey printed with ET. The extra-terrestrial has made his return to the Vélodrome lawn. The number 9 who had not played since May 9 (already in Marseille against Toulon) put out a major performance, silenced the critics and extinguished the doubts. A first half in particular where he brought out his full range: decisive foot pass for Teddy Thomas, acceleration behind the rucks for Cros’ try, occupancy foot plays in the 5m lane perfectly executed, a ruck against three Racing players leading to Willis’ try, passes behind the back. On arrival, crazy statistics: 49 passes, 4 defenders beaten, a crossing, 82m covered, a decisive pass and a try. Released in the 51st minute to the cheers of the public.
Ntamack’s foot play
The absence of Thomas Ramos is a real blow for Toulouse but the Stade has another international class scorer in its ranks, with its number 10 Romain Ntamack. 9 out of 9 facing the poles with notably some corner transformations. The opener has 34 consecutive successful kicks (Parra still holds the record with 48). He let Kinghorn take over on 9th down. And in addition to being very clean on his feet, he animated his three-quarter line perfectly, notably with a lot of play in the back to quickly find the lanes. Without forgetting this chistera in the 75th for Kinghorn which brings Capuozzo’s try.
The performance of the captains
Willis, Meafou, Cros, Mauvaka, Thomas… The executives got into the swing of things and put out an international performance. Willis, the captain, knew how to catch balls as always and even had a breakthrough over 30m (107m covered in total), all punctuated by a try. Meafou did Meafou: brutal. Launched five meters from the try line, he scored the third red and black try. In defense he also hurt with his powerful tackles. Teddy Thomas continues to enjoy this team with his 12th and 13th tries of the season, always well served by Antoine Dupont. Mauvaka, started for the fifth time this season, also had a great match which he finished in the third row. He also scored his try. Cros reassured everyone. 80 full minutes with this shadow work always so precious to allow rapid releases.
In his garden at the Vélodrome
Claude Nougaro’s Toulouse resonated on numerous occasions in the stadium Vélodrome to the delight of the red and black public. We only saw these two colors in the stadium. There were at least 30,000 at the Vélodrome to set the mood and accompany the demonstration at the Stadium, which took place in Marseille. Victory against Toulon 51-27 last May, 50 to 16 against Toulon a year ago, without forgetting the 2024 final against Bordeaux 59-3
The flops
The suspense killed in 20 minutes, historic defeat for Racing
The red and black supporters enjoyed themselves, the fans of suspense much less so… If Racing scored the first points of the match, on a penalty from Antoine Gibert, Toulouse already led 21-3 after twenty minutes, thanks to three tries. There was never a match this Friday evening, and the crass indiscipline of Racing quickly nailed its coffin. In thirty minutes and eight mistakes, Patrice Collazo’s men were already reduced to 13 and Toulouse took the opportunity to plant two tries which definitively sealed the fate of this one-sided semi-final. We will have to go back a long way in the archives but, overwhelmed as ever, the Ile-de-France club undoubtedly suffered a historic setback at the semi-final stage (71-17), going well beyond the challenge in the Challenge Cup this winter and the much more anonymous 61-7 conceded in Ulster.
Racing’s thick defense
22% missed tackles (20/89) in the first half alone. 20% (40/202) over the entire match. This shows that the Ile-de-France defense literally passed by its half on the Vélodrome pitch. Ironically, it was on a poorly executed tackle on Meafou that Manyara, one of the most fit Racing men of the spring, was knocked out fifteen minutes into the game and definitively left on concussion protocol… Toulouse finished the match with 40 defenders beaten, 8 crossings and a total close to 800m covered with the ball. A real walk of health.Â
The almost non-existent offensive animation of Racing
But why this strategy? Deprived of ammunition throughout the game, Racing were almost never able to hold on to the few balls they had in their hands (23 passes, 20 races and a crossing on the clock in the first half). Like for example these two sequences where Antoine Gibert very quickly gets rid of the leather to return it to the people of Toulouse. First on a restart from 22m (25th), then on the final offensive of the first period (40th+1) where the opener strangely sends a kick which allows Toulouse to shorten the terrible first act of Ile-de-France. The rest of the match will be of the same ilk, apart from this advance synonymous with a try (69th) rewarding the effort of the forwards – notably Jordan Joseph – in the axis.
Stade Toulousain will face Montpellier or Stade Français in the final on June 27. Ugo Mola’s players will know their opponent tomorrow, after the second semi-final.
