The fervor turned into astonishment.
Once again the master gave the lesson to the pupil.
Once again, La Rochelle, eternal dolphin, bowed before its king, Toulouse, who constantly sends him back to his studies (20-16).
But there was noise, fire and life in this Top 14 recovery and that is the main thing.
The Marcel-Deflandre stadium has rediscovered its crazy atmospheres. Sold out. As before the Covid-19 pandemic. Sixteen thousand spectators shout their happiness at the entrance of the artists. Artists who were at the top of the bill last season, in France and throughout Europe. The Rochelais, obviously, receive the biggest ovations. Will they finally bite the Toulouse ogre, who devoured them in the final of the European Cup (22-17) then the French championship (18-8), the last game of the Maritimes before this Sunday, day of resumption of the Top 14, party night? Alldritt, the captain, Bourgarit, the hooker, are unleashed. From the start, they set off a hellish pace, refusing to attempt penalties to afford penalty kicks. It sets the tone, it enchants the public, but it is not really rewarded and Toulouse,the only team to have won on this lawn for two years - last season - takes the lead.
The champion enters the scene with his best actors. Dupont, Ntamack, Ramos, Médard, Lebel, Tauzin, Baille or Cros close ranks, without frills, but with a realism that gives the public a cold sweat. Until the Jules duo. The opener Jules Plisson serves his first center Jules Favre who infiltrates for a test that gives color to the Black and Yellow (7-6, 18th). Eight minutes later, a magnificent movement initiated by Spanish winger Martin Alonso in his camp on the left wing, ended fifteen meters from the Toulouse line, saved by a tackle from Dupont on Favre. Intoxicating but not enough to protect Ronan O'Gara's players.
It is just before the hour of play that the bronca goes up a notch. The shoulder of the second row giant Skelton hits the head of his opposite Arnold on a high tackle. Expulsion is automatic (57th). The ghosts of Twickenham where the Rochelais had let slip the European title to 14 against 15 arise suddenly. Four points ahead (16-12) while there are more than twenty minutes, the advantage seems meager. Especially when geniuses roam the field. Romain Ntamack calls the ball sixty meters from the opposing line. He saw a hole, he rushed into it, and went to flatten a high-class test (66th). Toulouse is still the biggest.
