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Toulouse and Bordeaux to contest Top 14 final amid red card mayhem in France
By Ian Cameron
The Top 14 semi-finals saw both Toulouse and Bordeaux advance to the final after victories against La Rochelle and Stade Francais respectively.
Discipline issues ended La Rochelle’s bid for a first Top 14 title at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux. They lost their semi-final 39-23 against Toulouse; Ronan O’Gara’s side having now lost five knockout matches to Toulouse including their Top 14 finals in 2021 and 2023.
La Rochelle led before second-half red cards for Uini Atonio - for a dangerous challenge on Thibaud Flament - and Reda Wardi - for a headbutt on Julian Marchand - effectively ended their challenge.
In addition to the two red cards referee Tual Trainini sent Jack Nowell, Jack Willis and Julien Marchand to the sin-bin for various infringements.
La Rochelle did get off to a bright start when former Wallaby hooker Tolu Latu scored with just ten minutes on the clock.
However, Ugo Mola’s Toulouse would then score twice while La Rochelle's Jack Nowell was in the bin for offside.
The first came when Toulouse used a complex tap penalty leading to Blair Kinghorn scoring the opening try.
The second came just moments before the former Exeter Chiefs fullback was due back on the pitch as La Rochelle conceded a penalty in their own 22. Toulouse played their way across the pitch allowing Juan Cruz Mallia to score.
La Rochelle hit back when captain Gregory Alldritt scored on the stroke of halftime. England back row Willis had been yellow-carded on 36 minutes for repeated Toulouse offsides allowing Antoine Hastoy an easy shot at goal but Alldritt opted for a kick to touch that lead to his own try. O'Gara's men went into the break leading 20-15.
It started going south, however, when five minutes after Atonio’s 42nd-minute red card Toulouse took control of the game. Peato Mauvaka was denied a try due to a forward pass but Santiago Chocobares charged down Brice Dulin’s clearance to score under the posts.
Despite being nine points and two players down La Rochelle forced a penalty which was converted by Hastoy.
Toulouse's Matthis Lebel killed off all doubt when he added a fifth try for the red and blacks three minutes from time.
The defending champions now head to Marseille for the final against Bordeaux. Their only concern is an injury to loosehead Cyril Baille who was stretchered off 10 minutes into the second half. Baille will miss the final due to a fractured fibula and ruptured ankle ligaments.
Bordeaux - guided by Yannick Bru - reached their first-ever Top 14 final after beating Stade Francais 22-20 in Bordeaux.
Five tries were scored in Saturday's match all off the back of mauls. The first two came from Bordeaux hooker Maxime Lamothe in the 17th and 21st minutes as his team stretched to a 17-3 lead.
Stade - who had defeated Bordeaux twice in the regular season - cut the deficit on the half-hour mark with back-rower Romain Briatte crossing.
Bordeaux back-row forward Pierre Bochaton was next to score before Stade replacement hooker Lucas Peyresblanques barrelled over in the 62nd minute to make the score 22-15.
In the dying moments Peyresblanques scored his second try in the corner as Stade trailed by just two points.
However, Segonds found the kicking angle too tight and his attempt to pull his team level failed leaving Bordeaux to celebrate victory.
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If rugby chooses to embrace flair then it may err too much towards it and may become too much like league with the set piece becoming inconsequential in which case it becomes repetitive. If rugby chooses power then it becomes a slow drab affair with endless amounts of big men coming off the bench. Rugby needs to embrace both sides of the coin. It needs to have laws receptive to the power game but also laws that appreciate flair and running rugby. Where contrasting styles meet it generates interest because one side could beat the other with completely different plans as long as they execute their gameplan better and show great skill within their own plan. The maul and scrum should not be depowered at the same time laws that protect the team in possession should also be put in place with a clear emphasis to clean up and simplify the ruck and favour the attacking side while allowing a fair chance for the poacher to have an impact. Thus we set the stage between teams that want to build phases vs teams that want dominance in the set piece who slow the game down and play more without the ball off counterattack. The game needs to allow each type of team an opportunity to dominate the other. It needs to be a game for all shapes and sizes, for the agile and the less subtle. It needs to be a game of skill that also embraces the simplicity of the little things that allows teams of all qualities to stand a chance.
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