In a meeting where Toulouse had decided to turn before their Champions Cup final, Montpellier was never able to get on the level of the young red and black guard and lost 22 to 29. Once again Guillaume Cramont is shown to be excellent while Auguste Cadot missed his meeting.
The tops:
Before the meeting, the Toulouse staff admitted that the players present in Montpellier had little chance of applying to London, he once again proved that he had his place with the “big guys”. Opportunistic, he follows a kick from Germain well and scores his team’s first try. On the second he puts his arms out well and manages to make play around him, despite two Montpellier players on his back. To complete the panel of the modern third row he scored the third try for the Rouge et Noir with great power. For the rest, as usual, he always offers himself in line. He finished his match with seven tackles for zero misses and four defenders beaten.
The young hooker from Toulouse is definitely more than an understudy. He showed it again on the pitch at GGL Stadium. In this rejuvenated team he appeared as a real leader, firstly in the fight, and also in his attitudes. Well placed in the running game, he beats three defenders and breaks through the Cists defense ahead of his team’s first try. Always voluntary in defense, he does not miss any of his five tackles. He did even better than replacing the Mauvaka – Marchand doublet.
The Hérault winger did not have much ammunition to put on hand and fortunately for the Toulouse residents. Every time he touched the ball he made differences and put Ugo Mola’s men on their heels. He could even have scored a magnificent tightrope walk try but Bituniyata’s mistake (yellow card for the action) prevented him from doing so. Symbol of his match he quickly plays a penalty and breaks through the defense, but too lonely he loses it. In defense he made all seven tackles he attempted.
The flops:
The South African scrum-half certainly scored two tries, perfectly following the Montpellier attacks. But his meeting is not up to the level of the double world champion that he is. First, he offers the first try to the Rouge et Noir on a plateau, missing his return from 22 meters, then is trapped by Germain’s kick in the goal and can only watch Castro-Ferreira flatten. He is also penalized in a ruck, drops a ball on important ammunition from his team and must do better on some of his clearances. His five missed tackles do not work in his favor.
He is one of the satisfactions of the tough Montpellier season, but the three-quarter center did not show his advantage this Saturday afternoon. Not very prominent in attack, he doesn’t make the differences he usually does in the center of the pitch. His completely missed penalty does not help the MHR.
- Baptiste Erdocio and Luka Japaridze
The two Cist pillars suffered too much in an essential sector for their position: the scrum. While they advanced against two young Toulouse players and had experience on their side, they were too often penalized and cost their team precious ammunition. If both were active in defense, respectively 15 and 8 tackles, they forgot the essential, “no scrum no win”.
He was one of the veterans of this Toulouse team and had to set an example to hope to find a place in the team which will set foot at the Tottenham Hostpur Stadium. On his wing he stood out too little, or for the wrong reasons. Penalized twice, he also discussed an arbitration decision and made his team move back 10 meters. On the opponent’s first try he is late and overtaken by Bridge. Volunteer at the heart of the game where he often zoned out, he did not make much difference.