Who said ? “The final stages are different. Anything can happen, these are much closer matches. » The question is not easy, since any athlete adept at the redwood language, whether he plays football or quidditch, can come up with this kind of all-purpose sentence.
No need to rack your brains, the answer is impossible to find if you don’t know Stephan Lewies, the captain of Harlequins, expected in the Pink City on Sunday to challenge Stade Toulousain in the Champions Cup semi-final. And without wanting to get angry with the South African 2nd row of the English club – he still weighs 113 kg and 1.98 m – we can say that he has surely already been more inspired than Tuesday at the press conference.
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If three of the round of 16 of the competition had ended with a difference of less than a converted try, only one quarter-final, the one lost by the Union Bordeaux-Bègles against the “Quins” precisely (41-42), pushed the suspense to the end. The other scores? 40-13 (Leinster – La Rochelle), 59-22 (Northampton – Bulls) and 64-26 (Toulouse – Exeter). What is especially striking is the avalanche of points (307) and tries (43) which swept across the four pitches.
A points record broken twice in two days
The record for the most prolific quarterback in the history of the competition was established in Bordeaux on April 13, before being beaten the next day in Toulouse. And we can think that Sunday’s half, between the team of Antoine Dupont and that of the English artist Marcus Smith, should also turn the clock well. During the group match between the two teams in December, the Rouge et Noir went to spank the Londoners (19-47).
“I think it will perhaps be more varied than you might think,” warns Erik Bonneval, who will comment on the poster for beIN Sports. It’s not going to be “hooray-rugby”, it’s going to play a big role but I think there will be a big clash ahead. In the quarter-final, I saw some very solid Harlequins, who don’t just have will-o’-the-wisps in their three-quarter line. But yes, that’s what the Champions Cup is all about: the teams play to win. They don’t calculate to know if the following weekend they will be tired or not. »
Please note: this is not to say that the Top 14 is reduced to a small-scale championship where the stakes would crush the game, between hopes of the final stages and fear of relegation. But as Toulouse opener Romain Ntamack indicates, “in the European Cup, these are more open matches”.
“I think that in the Champions Cup, the defense is a little less effective than in championship matches,” continues Stade forwards coach Virgile Lacombe. Whether it’s Harlequins or Exeter, these are teams that seek to add volume to the game. To do this you have to hold the ball, with perhaps less kicking and more desire to create volume. »
Penalties rather than penalty goals
Attempting a penalty has almost become heresy at continental level (yes we know, there are also the South African franchises now). Exeter, crowned in 2020 thanks to its art of the ball carried behind penalties, has been emulated (see also the England women’s XV). And often, it’s five points (or even seven in the event of a successful transformation) rather than three points scored, as this type of combination is complicated, if not impossible, to defend when it is well executed.
Coming back to the quarter-finals, only 36 of the 307 points scored were from penalties, and the UBB – Harlequins and Northampton – Bulls matches each produced only one successful goal.
Arbitration in favor of the attack
Erik Bonneval points to another factor. “The rules have evolved, the refereeing favors attack,” observes the former international center or winger from Stade Toulousain. The difference between the Top 14 and the European Cup is that the most refereed team is the one that defends. The one who takes the initiative, who produces play, will be favored. »
This is how Stade third row Jack Willis was surprised, during the first half of the quarter-final against Exeter, not to see his “scratches” rewarded as they certainly would have been in championship. “When you don’t have the ball, you better be very clean in everything you do,” Bonneval continues.
Marcus Smith, the Harlequins fly-half, during the victory in Bordeaux against UBB in the quarter-final of the Champions Cup (41-42), April 13, 2024. – Daniel Vaquero / Sipa
So inevitably, the scoreboard panics and certain purists rebel in front of totals which sometimes take on the appearance of basketball scores. After all, our country, thanks to the talent of exceptional writers and the absence of television, raised to the rank of legend an incredible 0-0 between the Blues and South Africa in 1961.
The nostalgic are wrong
“If they have forgotten, we will give them a match where it is 6-3 at half-time,” laughs the beIN Sports consultant. I’m not sure they like it, with only kicking and rugby in “I manage, I don’t take risks, I don’t pass three times because you never know, it could be dangerous” mode. “. »
But let those worried who fear seeing the game of said of the time when 6-3s and 9-6s abounded in a championship of 80 clubs.
2024-05-05 07:43:15
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