In a post-match press conference, the captain of Stade Toulousain spoke about the victory against Racing 92 (31-7), the qualification of his team in the quarter-final and the performance of his friend Ntamack.
Toulouse, authoritarian winner of Racing 92 (31-7) on Sunday in the round of 16 of the Champions Cup, produced “a very serious match”, appreciated its captain Antoine Dupont, who praised the “very complete performance” of his pair of the hinge Romain Ntamack.
Were you calm leading into the break despite a strong unfavorable wind?
Romain Ntamack : “10-0 at half-time with the wind there was, it was a very good performance. We knew that the conditions were going to be complicated. We played very well with them, we didn’t expose ourselves at home, we knew how to make them make mistakes to go to their camp and above all score points, which was not easy. We knew it was going to be easier in the second half with the wind. It was a very serious match. The ‘big guys’ responded to the physical challenge. Our defense was very efficient, even if we scared ourselves a few times because of their individualities, who broke a lot of tackles. We were present in the adversity, in the impacts… We were really ready to play this match.
You played 70 minutes with Romain Ntamack, who is returning from his serious knee injury. What were your feelings?
It doesn’t feel like we haven’t seen each other in months, which is a pretty good sign. When you have a group of forwards that are dominant like today, it’s always easier for the hinge. Romain has prepared well for his return to regain all his bearings and get back to the game we know. He gave a very complete, very solid performance. We hope that this will continue.
What can you expect from your quarter-final opponent, Exeter?
We played Bath (beaten by Exeter 21-15 this weekend, Editor’s note) in the group, so we know the quality of this team. It’s not a small achievement to have beaten her. We have been warned. In any case, when we get to this stage of the competition, there are no more small matches and we will prepare as best we can. It didn’t necessarily go well the last time we met Exeter (defeat in the semi-final in 2020, Editor’s note). Some time has passed since then. Even if they haven’t changed the staff, they still have a lot of new players. But they keep this quality of play and above all this ability to be tough on contact, to come up strong in defense. It’s a team profile that we don’t necessarily have the opportunity to meet very often. Above all, we will have to continue to play our rugby as a whole, as we are capable of doing at times.
