It's a fact.
Since mid-January, the champion of France and Europe has been missing a dozen internationals, requisitioned by the Six Nations Tournament.
It's not the same to play without Dupont, Ntamack, Jelonch, Baille, Marchand or other Cros to name a few.
But we are entitled to think that the Toulouse workforce is bloated enough to get through this period of duplication without completely unscrewing.
Because that's what it's all about.
To discover
Schedule and Top 14 results
Ranking Top 14
Read alsoTops / Flops Stade Toulousain-Stade Français: brilliant Waisea, feverish Toulousains
Moreover, the black series began well before the departure of the internationals for the Foreign Legion camp in order to prepare for the Six Nations Tournament.
The first defeat in the Top 14 dates back to December 4 (17-7 against UBB).
Since ?
Defeat in Clermont on January 1 (16-13), then at home against Racing (15-20), then, even more worrying, on the lawn of promoted Perpignan (36-13), before a fifth failure in a row, at again at home, against Parisian rival Stade Français (28-29).
Five losses, ongoing streak.
Not to mention the one on the Wasps lawn (30-22) in the Champions Cup.
Mola can accuse duplicates, the evil is deeper with 3 of 6 defeats in full strength
Ugo Mola can blame the duplicates, invented just to bring down Stade Toulousain, the evil is deeper with three of these six defeats in full strength.
This is also what the second line of the Blues, Thibaud Flament, had recognized after the humiliation in Catalan lands: “
We can talk about a lot of things, but it starts with envy.
We lacked heart and balls…
” 36 points and five tries conceded against a promoted player, it's actually not far from nothing.
"
We were waiting to hit rock bottom, we're there
," summed up the head coach of the Rouge-et-Noir.
If we limit ourselves to the Top 14, we have to go back eight years to find traces of such a long series of setbacks (beginning of the 2014-2015 season, from August 30 to September 26 precisely).
With, of course, accounting consequences: only 3 points (defensive bonus) taken out of the 25 put into play, to fall to 5th place in the championship, 12 points behind the Bordeaux leader (but still 6 points ahead of the 7th, and 1st not qualified, Stade Rochelais).
It is therefore an understatement to say that the alarm clock is expected this Saturday (3 p.m.) on the lawn of the Section Paloise on behalf of the 18th day of the Top 14. With a sinister record that hovers: losing six times in a row, this n never happened at Stade Toulousain since the establishment of the Top 14 in 2005…
An internship in the Landes to mobilize the group
"
I'm hopeful
," assured the head coach on the evening of the narrow defeat against Stade Français.
We are not going to let go.
On what I could see on the state of mind of my young guys and this group, we will hang on.
“The young guys are the eight players who, last June, were still playing in the final of the Espoirs championship… However, it will not be easy because the Paloise Section is tough on home soil: 6 wins in 8 matches (for 27 of their 33 points gleaned at home).
Whatever the outcome of this meeting, the Toulouse staff has already scheduled an internship to (re)mobilize the group.
From this Saturday, after the match against Pau, the players will take the direction of Soustons, in the Landes.
They will stay there until Wednesday to prepare for the reception of the Bordeaux leader, scheduled for Sunday February 27 at 9:05 p.m.