A perfect match to start with. Stade Toulouse launched its Champions Cup season with a great success against Cardiff (52-7) despite complicated weather conditions. Facing an inexperienced team, Ugo Mola’s players reassured, particularly defensively, after worrying performances in the championship. Thomas Ramos showed inspiration and allowed his team to score 7 tries and collect a significant offensive bonus.
Stade Toulouse started this match with a knife between its teeth, wanting to show better things than in the Top 14. This change in competition is a real breath of fresh air for the players and it showed. This first match of group 2 was a real spectacle, as expected, with two teams who want to play. From the first minutes, Toulouse experienced a phase of domination, materialized by Matthis Lebel who scored the first try of the match (5th). The Toulouse winger served Richie Arnold a few moments later after a fixation. The Australian second row quietly flattened into the goal to give his team an advantage early in the match (9th).
Toulouse reassured, Dupont too
The man of the match, Thomas Ramos, shone both in the conversions and in the game. He was at the origin of Blair Kinghorn’s first try in his new colors (26th), but also several well-inspired balls. Antoine Dupont was also particularly in good shape in the passing game, in his role as conductor.
The bonus try was scored by Anthony Jelonch just before the break (38th), with a superb combination and a serve on a silver platter by Peato Mauvaka. Arthur Retière (46th) and Alban Placines (70th) also experienced the joy of scoring a try, the first on an individual feat, the second on a collective movement following a carried ball. The icing on the cake: Kinghorn scored a double on the gong to conclude a festival by Pierre-Louis Barassi (80th).
Dream debut for Kinghorn
The Cardiff Blues, however, showed some response, notably on the try of Mackenzie Martin (24th), with an offensive game full of spirit, but which lacked options to worry a well-established opposing defense. This is the point on which Ugo Mola’s men wanted to concentrate this Saturday, and they were more than satisfactory on this point, like several situations 5 meters from their line which were perfectly managed.