DECRYPTION – At the end of the (more than) sluggish victory of the RCT on the Gloucester lawn, Saturday evening, during the last day of the Champions Cup group stage, find out what pleased… and displeased the editorial staff of the Figaro.
TOPS
Dréan and Ferté were not laughing
Fortunately, the Toulonnais wingers were there to invigorate (a little) this soporific game, which saw the Toulonnais win ingloriously on the Gloucester pitch (14-31). The friends scored their team’s first two tries, within a quarter of an hour of play (9th, 13th), immediately annihilating the English enthusiasm. The young Ferté could even have achieved a double if the main referee of the match had not canceled his second achievement for a hand fault earlier in the action. For his part, on the other hand, Dréan scored twice, in the final playing time of the game, to offer the offensive bonus to his team (80th). His 11th try of the season in 14 matches. The lights in the opaque Var fog.
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Ludlam master in his country
He wasn’t laughing either. The English third row displays an impressive 10/10 in tackling. All punctuated by his power test before the break (38th). Faced with poor Cherry and Whites, the colossus of La Rade seemed like a hungry ogre, crushing every opponent that came in its way. A return to the country that feels good.
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Rugby, Champions Cup: laborious, Toulon dominates a (very) weak Gloucester and reaches the eighth
The RCT snatches its bonus and returns to victory away from home…
We had to wait for the siren to see the incisive Dréan come and offer the offensive bonus to his team… Against a team as weak as Gloucester, it’s a stain. A tasteless success for Toulon, but which is still the first away since… September 6. Champagne!
FLOPS
…at the end of a nameless purge
To watch rugby, you had better be on another channel. The Varois, well above their opponent of the day, should have folded the match from the first act. Instead of continuing their momentum after the successive attempts of their wingers, the Rade players rested on their laurels (even asleep), until seeing Gloucester, with a distressing level of play, restart the game. The RCT really did not display a champion mentality, even getting bogged down in opposing mediocrity. One of the worst matches of the season for sure. Absolutely nothing to remember from this match.
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Rugby, Champion Cup: in video, the summary of Toulon’s dull victory at Gloucester
Gloucester, a sorry level of play
It makes you wonder how this team can progress in the Champions Cup. Faced with an RCT which offered almost nothing, the Cherry and Whites looked more like amateurs than anything else… that’s saying something. Far too many teams in this competition simply do not have the level and distort several group matches. We can’t wait for the eighth, or even the quarter, for rugby to regain its rights.
