"We'll pull ourselves together": Matthias Halagahu combative despite the "slightly more complicated" period experienced by the RCT

The faces were grave on Saturday evening as they boarded the bus home. Between disappointment, irritation, and incomprehension, the Toulon players preferred to avoid speaking out.

And, with the exception of Esteban Abadie (press conference), only Matthias Halagahu agreed to stop for a few minutes at the Var-matin microphone. The opportunity to discuss with the second row the slap received (16-50) but also the indiscipline and the decimated group of leaders with the injuries of the two captains (Charles Ollivon, end of season knee, and David Ribbans, calf). And, as often, the Toulon second row takes responsibility and shows combativeness.

While things are a bit complicated, this match against Toulouse was supposed to give you a chance to get back on track. That wasn't the case. How do you analyze this debacle?

I find it hard to explain this match from our point of view... From my point of view, I have the impression that we resisted rather well in the first half. And besides, when we got our hands on the ball, especially in the heart of the game, we managed to create progress, to put Toulouse in danger. Despite the cards [three in the first half] . Except that once they started playing after the break, we were down to fourteen men and we took waves...

In the recent past, we've regularly seen you resist fourteen. This time, we have the feeling that you've finally given up...

Maybe the difference is that this time we lost a scrum-half [Baptiste Serin] and not a second row or a number 8. He's the playmaker, the one who takes care of the exits from the half, so that probably unbalanced us. Luckily for us, Jules [Danglot] made a great entrance but, with the red card, we had to reorganize, and in particular take off a winger [Gabin Villière] . From there, it created spaces out wide, and against Toulouse who play with a lot of speed... That's probably part of the explanation.

You had already received three yellow cards in Vannes. This time you received three yellows, including two for Baptiste Serin, who received a red card in the ^39th minute. How do you explain this indiscipline, which you seemed to have resolved in the middle of winter?

I don't know if it's a lack of control or a desire to overdo it, but it's problematic. A team like Toulouse doesn't make these mistakes. We have to improve. It's already complicated with fifteen players, but with fourteen or thirteen, I'll let you imagine...

Do you feel there is a real gap between Toulon and a team like Toulouse?

Tonight [Saturday] , it's obvious that we weren't up to par. We can't hide it. More generally, we feel that things are a little more complicated at the moment. We've had easier periods during the season, but we'll pull ourselves together. In these moments, we have to take a step back and talk among ourselves to analyze what's working and, above all, what's not working so well. And move forward. Now, we're going to prepare for Pau, who just beat Lyon and are still in the race for qualification. It's a big challenge, so we'll have to be tough. We have no choice.

At a press conference, Pierre Mignoni explained that he was waiting for leaders to "step forward." You're one of the leaders. What will you say to the group in the coming days? Will you resort to cuddle therapy or raise your voice?

I think there are things to keep in mind, especially our state of mind in the first half. We received three cards, we could have cracked but we resisted. That's rather positive. Unlike Vannes where we all missed out, this time we had the impression of fighting more. And fighting better, even if it obviously wasn't enough against a team like Toulouse. So, now we have to switch to Pau. We have to cover this match because there are three left to give ourselves the best possible end to the season.