Frustrated by its narrow defeat at Pau (13-9) last weekend, which had caused it to slip to 6th place, Stade Toulousain intended to move forward against Perpignan, last in the Top 14, on Saturday at Ernest -Walloon. But before validating the victory (43-34), Toulouse went through all the stages. After a rather messy start to the match, including two balls quickly lost in touch, Stade Toulousain scored a first try through Ange Capuozzo in the 19th minute.
Eleven minutes later, the yellow card of Catalan number 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o greatly facilitated the mission of Ugo Mola’s men. “We have to play, there are 14 of them,” shouted the manager of the French champions to his players. In the process, Anthony Jelonch, author of a good performance for his return, was able to flatten before being imitated by Richie Arnold, five minutes later, then Paul Costes, just before the break. At half-time, the Rouge et Noir already led by 25 points (31-6) against a tough Perpignan team.
Truth be told, it wasn’t entirely a surprise. Seven days after snatching its first victory of the season against Toulon (26-22), USAP made fourteen changes in its starting fifteen to better concentrate on the reception of Montpellier in a week. Above all, on the Stade side, the return of the internationals (Thibaud Flament, François Cros, Thomas Ramos starting in addition to Jelonch, as well as Antoine Dupont and Cyril Baille) has obviously changed the face of this team which is once again full of desire.
With a special mention for Ramos in all the good moves. In the second half, Toulouse continued with the line scrum with the try of another Blue, Melvyn Jaminet, after good pressure from Costes on Jake McIntyre (43rd). With a 32-point difference (38-6), the match seemed to be over for good.
The ovation for Dupont and a breathtaking end to the match
In the 46th minute, the entire stadium only had eyes for the captain of the Blues, Antoine Dupont, who approached the field to enter a few moments later. Too bad, many spectators then missed the try of Argentine hooker Ignacio Ruiz at the same time (38-13). Dupont, without a helmet, could then calmly replace Ramos at the opening, strapped to the left calf after a small crutch that seemed insignificant, to a huge ovation.
Perpignan, far from being discouraged, again showed a lot of character on a try from Jacobus Van Tonder but Peato Mauvaka, captain, temporarily gave his team some fresh air in the process (43-20), thus signing the sixth Toulouse test. The match became more and more wild. Physical too, sometimes, like the nudge from Fijian center Alivereti Duguivalu on Dupont with, as a result, a second card inflicted on Perpignan on the hour mark.
Despite this new numerical inferiority, Franck Azéma’s players, quite astonishing in the difficulty, did not at all give up their intentions to develop the game. And they were rewarded by two tries from Mathieu Acebes and Sadek Deghmache (66th) facing Toulouse residents who are wait-and-see and overly sanctioned. Only 9 points separated the two teams (43-34). In the final minutes, Perpignan tried everything to come back. In vain, but the Catalan club still deprives its opponent of the offensive bonus.
