Toulouse-Bayonne: A messy champion, Segonds first in line... Our special correspondent's favorites and highlights

FAVORITES

On the road to the hat trick

Insatiable Stade Toulousain. The Red and Black suffered this Friday against the Bayonnais (32-25), surprise guests in the last four, but they ensured the essentials and made their experience of the big events speak for themselves . Reaching the final of the Top 14 once again, for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Ugo Mola's team is now in the running to achieve an unprecedented treble in the history of the Top 14. No one has done it. "It's not neutral," emphasizes Ugo Mola . Three titles in a row? You would have to go back to the 1990s, to the beginnings of professionalism, to find traces of such domination with the four consecutive titles won by... Toulouse between 1994 and 1997.

Segonds on the front line

At the end of the match, when Thomas Ramos was voted man of the match, whistles rang out at Groupama Stadium. The reason? Many people, and not just Bayonne supporters, surely imagined that this honorary title should have gone to Aviron fly-half Joris Segonds. Having had a tremendous performance in his role as a goal scorer (18 points at 100% success rate), the former Stade Français Paris player was also impeccable in his footwork and clearances. He kept his team in touch with Toulouse for a long time. A top-notch performance that wasn't enough for Aviron to overthrow a Toulouse side that is always formidable in knockout matches. This honorary award, this chocolate medal, would not have been undeserved despite the defeat.

Also read Top 14: "We have written a great story for rowing," says Bayonne manager Grégory Patat.

Ntamack's beautiful response

Since the start of the season, he's been playing with a sore knee, and after next Saturday's final, he'll have surgery to clean out the painful joint. His performances haven't always been up to scratch this year, and he's regularly found himself the target of criticism. Particularly after the Champions Cup semi-final defeat against UBB, where he had a poor performance, outclassed by a brilliant Matthieu Jalibert. This Friday, even though the match was choppy, the French XV fly-half held his own. Playing simply and accurately, whether in his movement or his kicking. He didn't flinch when his team appeared to be struggling. A response to all the criticism he's received. "At the end of the season, I'm feeling pretty good," he confided. "The injections are working quite well, so it doesn't bother me too much. There's one last match left, so I'll have to grit my teeth."

CLAWS

Doubts remain in Toulouse

"An ugly win, I'm happy with that." Ugo Mola knows his team didn't shine, he even ironically said that "this match shouldn't have been televised." Toulouse, plagued by doubts after its elimination in the Champions Cup semi-final by Bordeaux-Bègles (two wins and two losses in the Top 14), was hardly reassured against Bayonne. Many inaccuracies, too many lost balls, the Red and Blacks were not sovereign. Before next Saturday's final at the Stade de France, doubts have not been dispelled. Some predicted a one-sided match for Toulouse against the Little Thumb of the last four, but that was not the case. But Ugo Mola prefers to stay positive, saying that "being in the final of that season, with what happened, for many reasons, is the performance of a group that didn't give up, that is resilient."

Bayonne has wasted too much

The Bayonne team showed enormous heart and courage at Groupama Stadium. They kept the uninspired Toulouse side busy for a long time (20-15 for Toulouse at halftime), but they finally gave in in the second half despite having many key moments and several opportunities to close the gap. They never managed to capitalize. A small mistake here, a knock-on there... Too much ammunition wasted along the way, while their opponents, for their part, displayed formidable realism. Afterward, Bayonne manager Grégory Patat could only observe: "In this type of match, it's often Toulouse who come out on top, because they have the experience... They controlled the match at their own pace, with their know-how." And Bayonne wasn't as effective. "We should have scored a few more to get back into the game, to see where they really stand," he lamented.

Too undisciplined Stade players

More than the manner, the black mark that the Toulousains point out is their indiscipline against the Bayonnais. They were sanctioned 13 times (compared to 15 for their opponents) and this allowed the Aviron players to stay in the game for a long time, neck and neck, thanks to the ultra-effective and long-distance kick of Joris Segonds. "We were never really in danger from the rugby offered by Bayonne. We were in danger because of our indiscipline," admits Ugo Mola. An opinion shared by Thomas Ramos, who scathing: "There is too much indiscipline on our part tonight. We have victory at the end and that's very good, but if we play like this next week, we'll take more than 40 points... There are a lot of things to sort out before the final." Time is running out, the week is going to be short.