The Toulousains, intractable winners, seven tries to two, have finished, at least for now, with the unknown and the exoticism of the South Africans, invited for the first time this season in European competitions.

They will meet in three weeks, for their fifth consecutive semi-final of the European Cup, now intercontinental, the most familiar faces of the Leinster players, who had given them a lesson in rugby a year ago (40-17).

The day after the Grand Slam of the Clover XV in the Six Nations Tournament, the Irish province will be the favorite on its lawn of the Aviva Stadium, in Dublin, after a titanic group stage and the correction inflicted Friday night in Leicester (55-24).

The Stade Toulousain, hung by the Sharks for a good hour, finally responded in the same widths thanks to a totally unbridled end of the match.

The coach of the XV of France Fabien Galthié has certainly watched with the greatest attention this unprecedented confrontation, fingers crossed so that none of the many Toulouse internationals lined up (Baille, Mauvaka, Flament, Cros, Dupont, Ntamack, Ramos) come to join their teammate Anthony Jelonch on the list of long-term injuries.

Five months to the day of the start of the World Cup (September 8-October 28), half or almost half of his typical team had the opportunity to calibrate against a good part of the Springboks, that the Blues could meet from the quarters in the autumn.

The truth of club competitions is not necessarily the same as in selection, but he will still be able to learn some lessons from the arm wrestling won Saturday, under a summer sun, in a sold-out Ernest-Wallon stadium.

Toulouse hooker Peato Mauvaka (L) scored a try against the Sharks in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup on April 8, 2023 in Toulouse © Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP

Dupont's offerings

As in the last tests in November and the victory in pain of the France against South Africa (30-26), Toulouse, as expected, has long been jostled in the fight and the ground game by the franchise of Durban.

Toulouse scrum-half Antoine Dupont (C) during the Champions Cup quarter-final against the Sharks on April 8, 2023 in Toulouse © Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP

But the five-time European champions paid especially in the first half for their lack of realism, like the two tries harvested, by clumsiness, by the winger Matthis Lebel (3rd and 14th), yet well in legs.

The South Africans, they were not asked to flatten the first, thanks to their scrum-half Grant Williams at the conclusion of a daring recovery, to the "Toulouse", of his opener Curwin Bosch (3-10, 27th).

Touched in his pride, the leader of the Top 14 immediately reacted. First on a big scrum, then a carried ball that resulted in the first try, in the corner, of the Argentine Juan Cruz Mallia, returned from a concussion protocol at the beginning of the match after a head-to-head collision.

On an offering from his captain Antoine Dupont, author of four assists in total, the back Thomas Ramos, still on a cloud after his excellent Tournament, allowed his team to make a first break as soon as the locker room returned (21-10, 47th).

The rest of the second half took on the appearance of Super Rugby, with rather porous defences, especially on the Sharks side, for an of tries with the doubles of Mallia and Ramos and the achievements of Peato Mauvaka, Arthur Retière and Romain Ntamack.

Enough to mark the South African spirits in the perspective of the World Cup, of which Fabien Galthié will have another taste at the end of the month with the semi-final against Leinster, the main provider of the Irish team.

© 2023 AFP