Toulouse (AFP)
Stade Toulousain, leader of the Top 14 so far spared by the Covid-19, will not "fall into the calculations" during the international window which deprives it of many players, assured Thursday its manager Ugo Mola before the reception of Lyon Saturday.
Q: After a good start to the season (4 successes in 5 days), you have the right to a wild card during this doubling period ...
A: "Every time we can play a rugby match, it's already a victory (with the Covid-19). We are not only in the capitalization of points, we are also in the ability to be able to chain the matches. This coming Saturday will be our 8th meeting in a row, we are a little lucky considering what is happening on the right and on the left. We will take advantage of this chance and not fall into the calculations. We know that the classification is biased by the number of matches remaining to be played for each other. Depending on the moment when they will be played, as long as some are deadlocked, that some are not able to align teams worthy of the name ... This health crisis puts us in a very complex situation. "
Q: Six Toulousains are on the scoresheet for the XV of France on Saturday against the Welsh.
Would you like them to play 3 matches as quickly as possible with the Blues in order to find them as soon as possible, in accordance with the agreement between the Federation and the clubs?
A: "I retain only one thing: the international period should have been 3 matches plus an undisputed match in the confinement period, namely Ireland (at the end of the Six Nations Tournament, Editor's note). was rather inclined to find a solution through these 4 weeks. Afterwards, from the moment our players are with the France team, we consider them to be gone. (...) I want to protect the interests of Stade Toulousain and above all the health and integrity of our internationals and our club players because while our internationals are protected, we hit some people that we expose much more than they should be. There are boys who will be on the scoresheet this weekend and who, in my opinion, are not yet fully ready. "
Q: In this context, will the upcoming lists of the XV of France be more the result of negotiations between the coach and the clubs than the current one?
A: "The first (list) is for finishing a competition (the Six Nations Tournament), I understand they want the best. In the middle of that, there is a week of truce (start November) which is already a controversial week with 4 days back in the club, except that we will not train the guys from Monday to Thursday so as not to have them on the weekend. It will be 4 days of recovery. Second debate, how this competition, which I still do not understand the name (the Autumn Nations Cup), will it be played? The staff will tell us, they will take stock with us. In any case, it would be a shame that we have a group called France A and another France B ".
Interview at a press conference
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