The main reactions after Stade Français vs Toulon
Here are the main reactions after RCT’s victory 19-15 victory over Stade Français, last Sunday afternoon, on Day 5 of the Top 14.
Fabien Galthié, Toulon manager: “When you snatch victory two minutes from the end, it does you a world of good, given the way the game unfolded. It’s hard to win away from home, especially when some weaknesses remain and you don’t have total control of the game.”
Mathieu Bastareaud, Toulon captain: “After we were routed last week in Montpellier, we knew this game would be crucial. We had to win, if we wanted to get nearer the top of the table. We really earned victory, everyone gave everything for the team. Everything was far from being perfect, but we didn’t give up. When you have a solid backline, 70% of the job is done. Then, once we moved forward, we tried impossible moves. We wanted to add a touch of magic, but we’re not conjurers. We tried more simple things and it paid off.”
Julien Dupuy, Stade Français defence coach: “Things become complicated when some penalty tries are not given, when a forward pass five metres from the in-goal area is not noticed. We may work as hard as possible, watch videos, but… We know there will be mistakes, but I think we really deserved better today.”
Rémi Bonfils, Stade Français hooker: “We had high hopes ahead of the game to make up for our opening defeat against Lyon. What is frustrating is that the whole team went for it. In the locker room, we swore to keep being committed and we’ll carry on next week.”
Sources: post-game press conference and mixed zone, lequipe.fr.