And the magic of Antoine Dupont worked, once again. Acclaimed by the entire Paris La Défense Arena when the composition of the two teams was announced, the scrum half, who played his penultimate Top 14 match this Sunday against Racing 92 before joining the team of France rugby sevens to continue its preparation for the Olympic Games, delivered a new major performance to offer victory to Stade Toulouse (20-27). A valuable success for the French champions, who come within 4 points of their opponents of the day, who nevertheless retain the lead in the Top 14.
However, it is the Racingmen who started the best this last meeting of the 13th day, the last of the first half of the championship. Well helped by the yellow card addressed to Nepo Laulala for a high tackle on Camille Chat, the Ciel et Blanc scored the first try of the game in the 5th minute when Donovan Taofifenua, receiving a splendid opening at the foot of the young Flying half Maxime Méliande, who was playing only his 6th Top 14 match, flattened without the slightest difficulty.
“Antoine Dupont, will you be my lover? »
The Antoine Dupont show began a few minutes later, a quarter of an hour into the game. After a maul perfectly controlled by the Toulouse team, the best player in the world in 2021 inherited the ball and faked the Ile-de-France defense to create a gap, rushing to register the first try for the Rouge et Noir and equalize (7-7).
A splendid action which also had the merit of proving that a good part of the 14,866 supporters present at Paris La Défense Arena were committed to the cause of Toulouse, since the stadium belched following this beautiful inspiration. A little girl had even prepared a sign for the scrum half: “Antoine Dupont, will you be my lover? »
The Toulouse victory then began to take shape, even if Racing 92 held on to the score for a long time, thanks in particular to two penalties from Tristan Tedder, calm against the poles this Sunday evening. But the collective strength of Stade Toulouse made the difference. In the 30th minute, Piula Faasalele was the second to find the opening, after cleverly recovering a ball out of the ruck to score the try.
The solid and efficient Toulouse residents
At the start of the second period, a new dominant maul allowed Toulouse to regain the advantage. Ideally placed behind his teammates, Guillaume Cramont calmly led his forwards before flattening without incident. A try converted by Blair Kinghorn which gave Ugo Mola’s men a six-point lead (13-19). The gap increased to nine points following a successful penalty by the Scottish full-back.
The Racingmen tried to come back to the score but, despite the absence of numerous internationals like Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka or François Cros, the Toulouse defense held twice, even outnumbered after Joshua’s yellow card Brennan, taking advantage in particular of the clumsiness of the Ile-de-France residents. In the 75th minute, Tristan Tedder finally came to reward a solid Ile-de-France highlight by scoring the try for hope (20-22). A very short-lived hope since Ange Capuozzo definitively condemned the Racingmen just a minute later (20-27).
Even if it retains the lead in the Top 14, it is a serious setback for Racing 92, which is only three points ahead of Stade Français and Union Bordeaux-Bègles. Next weekend, the Ile-de-France residents will have the opportunity to get back on track on the pitch at USA Perpignan.
