Bordeaux and Maritimes will not see the last four of the Champions Cup. Toulouse could be the only French team in the semi-final, a first since 2019.
The skimming continues. In the round of 16 of the Champions Cup, Lyon and Racing 92 had already been knocked out of the competition. Certainly, the Ile-de-France residents had been eliminated by Stade Toulousain, which left a French team still in the running. This Saturday, double dose of disillusionment. Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Stade Rochelais were blackballed from the competition, respectively by Harlequins and Leinster. There were five French clubs on the starting line, so only Toulouse – opposed this Sunday (4 p.m.) against Exeter – remains to carry the hopes of French rugby.
In the best case scenario, there will only be one French club in the last four of the Champions Cup. This has not happened since the 2019 season, when, already, the Rouge et Noir were the last representatives of the Top 14, presented as the best championship in the world, at least the strongest. And, in 2019, Ugo Mola’s players suffered the impeccable law of Leinster (30-12). Over the last four seasons, there have been at least two French clubs in the last four.
The years of scarcity between 2016 and 2019
In 2020, the year of Exeter’s first victory against Racing 92, we also found Toulouse in the half, who had been beaten at this stage of the competition by the English Chiefs. The 2021 (La Rochelle, Toulouse, UBB) and 2022 (Stade Rochelais, Racing 92, Toulouse) editions confirmed the control of the French teams with the coronations of the Toulousains (2021) then the first title of the Rochelais (2022). Last year, we found the Toulouse (beaten again by Leinster) and the Maritimes (finally crowned for the second time) in the semi-finals.
Between 2016 and 2019, times were more complicated, there was only one club from the Top 14 in the semi-final of the Champions Cup. But Racing 92 (2016 and 2018), Clermont (2017) and Toulouse (2019) had all failed to win a continental title over this period. A trend which was reversed during the last three editions with the coronations of Toulouse (2021) and La Rochelle (2022, 2023).
Announced moribund after the serious financial crisis, the English clubs are ultimately doing better than the French. There were six Premiership clubs in the round of 16. Exeter can still believe in it, even if the march is high against Toulouse who have made this competition a priority objective. Harlequins, with their ultra-offensive play, qualified for the first time in their history in the last four of the Champions Cup. And Northampton, which also presents an attractive offensive game, imitated them on Saturday evening by crushing the South African Bulls (59-22). Two Premiership clubs – at least – in the last four, not bad for English rugby in crisis.
