UBB - Toulon semi-final: the fight, a “primordial” factor

Faced with an RCT that will seek to slow down their game, the Bordeaux team know that they will have to win the physical arm wrestling before hoping to play

The RCT is a promise. A few days before the semi-final between this team and his own, UBB manager Yannick Bru reiterated it again this week: "The match will be physical and intense. That's always the case against Toulon." Clear and concise. Of course, it's not uncommon for coaches to resort to pre-match formulas. For convenience. For efficiency. In this case, we can't suspect the boss of the reigning European champions of having resorted to a caricatured shortcut.

Undeniably, it's a "testosterone-fueled" recipe that has allowed Toulon to qualify for their first Top 14 semi-final since 2017. Forget the missteps that followed their Champions Cup quarter-final elimination against Toulouse. It's an RCT confident in its strengths and adept at direct (head-on?) play that has been writing its own story in recent weeks.

This return to form hasn't escaped the attention of Bordeaux. Their two matches against the Varois in the regular season—a 21-17 victory in Bordeaux this winter and a 27-10 defeat in Toulon just after their Champions Cup title—have built a solid sense of self-belief in their minds. "This team is very dense, very physical. They base a lot of their play on that with their big ball carriers. They have very good lineout and scrum conquest: they caused us a lot of problems, they are formidable in that regard."

The equation is bound to be complex. It will be even more so since Toulon will also be able to rely on the length of Melvyn Jaminet's kicking game to block a UBB team deprived of the speed of Louis Bielle-Biarrey in its own half. This is yet another weapon for a team that, like all the others in the Top 14, hopes to impose its power to slow down Bordeaux's launches. The only key to preventing Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert from orchestrating UBB's formidable movement game.

"How can we stop them from playing?" asks RCT manager Pierre Mignoni. "It's a question we've been asking ourselves all week. Yes, we have to impose the density aspect. In the knockout phase matches, that's always been the case. But if you don't take points and you don't give any away, it will be much easier to beat anyone. And even more so this team. The defensive line excels at this turnover game, occupation, and euphoria too: we must give this team very few opportunities."

"We've never crushed anyone: we have no margin."

Forewarned, the Bordeaux team isn't trembling. While their performances in combat zones have long seemed on a par with the oscilloscope, they are now showing solid confidence in this area. Particularly since their victory in the Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse. A high point during which they reigned supreme in the ground combat phases.

"These are reassuring performances," confirms hooker Maxime Lamothe. "But I want to say that it's a bit of what makes our team, our DNA. We need to fight in the contest zones. If we neglect this aspect of the game, it becomes difficult for us. We are aware that it will be essential."

Confidence is an important factor as the final stages approach. But it shouldn't blind UBB, insisted Yannick Bru: "We've never crushed anyone. Without a lot of work, humility, and effort, we don't have any margin." The warning is clear. But Maxime Lamothe doesn't intend to be self-conscious: "I think we have the weapons."