It was not the biggest game at his Stade Français, and certainly not against the best team in Toulouse. But with this victory (19-10) on Saturday evening over a Toulouse stadium already focused on its Champions Cup half, Gonzalo Quesada knows that Paris has taken a very big step in view of qualifying for the final phase of the Top 14. But if the capital club is third with seven points ahead of its closest pursuer Toulon, the Argentinian technician did not wish to mention a specific objective three days before the end of the regular season.
Stade Français won, even if it wasn’t their best game…
GONZALO QUESADA. Toulouse have been more than present, even leaving essential players to rest. They gave us a lot of problems. We were rarely able to finish our actions or put the danger as we would have liked. But like many games this season, we won at the end. We have a real group, I am very proud to accompany it and to see it evolve. We will discuss these last three games well positioned in the standings.
Why didn’t you manage to make the break when you dominated the second half?
Toulouse’s defense has a lot of merit. They didn’t give up, we outwitted. You feel that you are in place, that you are not in danger, but you are only six points ahead for a long time and you know that on a turnover, you can be killed in ten seconds. I’m relieved, and proud to see what happened tonight. I am emotional to see them celebrate this victory. Even if nothing is done, this victory is very important for us.
Has the pressure of the result diminished your players?
Absolutely. We let ourselves be polluted. We have heard a lot of things about Toulouse. We saw some interesting results for us in terms of the standings in the afternoon, and so we had a hard time getting into this game well. But once again, it hit very hard on the lawn.
What is Stade Français aiming for at the end of the season?
The reality is that in two weeks we are going to Clermont which is in a new dynamic and which is doing very well. I don’t know if they still have a chance to qualify (ASM is eleventh with ten points behind sixth place, editor’s note), but I know the state of mind of this city and this club. Then, we will receive Lyon, and move to La Rochelle. It’s ridiculous to start doing math with them on the way and a lot of teams still qualifying. When we finish the match in La Rochelle, we will go on the Internet to see where we finish.
Your players played for the first time in a sold-out stadium…
They deserve it, and it has transcended them. It doesn’t happen often but it’s great. Many people came to see this team. People took their ticket to see Toulouse and Dupont (absent Saturday night), but Toulouse and its players were already there last year and there were no sold out windows. This group created the environment to get there.
