Rugby: the European Cup is "looking for a second wind", says the president of Toulouse

A strong feeling of injustice remains three months after the cancellation, due to Covid-19 cases within the workforce, of the last group match against Cardiff, which the defending champion considered himself able and entitled to argue.

QUESTION: In January, you expressed your anger against this decision, notably threatening to go to court.

Where are you today?

regardless of the conditions under which we qualified.

As long as we are alive, there is a way to fight to be able to defend our title.

Toulouse is defending champion, the Stade had won against La Rochelle in the final of the European Cup on May 22, 2021 in London Adrian DENNIS AFP / Archives

Q: What do you expect from the appeals filed?

A: "First a principle, the recognition of a fault. From there, what are the consequences? From a sporting point of view, we will certainly have already been obliged to do without redress for faults once the decision will have been made. Obviously, there is also a very significant financial loss since the matches have been canceled. So sportingly we take the table as it is presented and economically we will fight until the end ".

Q: Do you question the way the EPCR works more broadly?

And no one is going to change the ranking that is established.

Everyone is happy that Stade Toulousain still qualified, so as not to go as far as absolute scandal.

However, this qualification is tainted by the consequences of this cancellation.

Program of the first legs of the round of 16 of the European Rugby Cup 2021-2022 Vincent LEFAI AFP / Archives

Q: Can this feeling of injustice be a springboard for the rest of the competition?

A: "It's up to the players, and perhaps the staff, to see if they want to take this type of argument to have some resilience. It can be part of the pre-match speeches. Next week will be released a film (on Stade Toulousain, editor's note) which leaves a lot of room for the pre-match speeches. We can see that they have a strategic meaning, but that there is also a trivial value that the we find almost in all rugby locker rooms, whether in the Federal or in the Series. Crying injustice to be able to motivate yourself in a locker room, I'm not sure that's enough ".

Interview by Sébastien DUVAL

© 2022 AFP