|
Special win: Toulon's Joe El Abd
©
RCN Toulon |
Toulon flanker, and FRC columnist, Joe El Abd
this week reflects reflects back on Toulon's superb 18-13
win against Stade Toulousain in Marseille on Sunday, and the
incredible build up to a league match that attracted more
than 55,000 fans.
'Special'. That’s how I would describe
our victory against Toulouse at the
weekend. Yes it was only four points but
everything surrounding the match, from the opposition to the
55,000 strong crowd made it much more than that.
The Build Up
While the build up to the game was no
different to any other match in the Top 14 you could tell
that something special was happening. It all started at the
final whistle in Montpellier where we had lost in the dying
seconds to a ‘debatable’ video referee’s decision. After a
loss like that there is no better team to play to help focus
the mind than Toulouse. For if I have heard us likened to
the Manchester City of the football world, then Toulouse are
most definitely the Real Madrid. They have been one of the
best teams in France and Europe for over a decade and their
team-sheet reads like that of an international side. It was
the sort of challenge that we wanted and needed to help us
rectify the wrongs of the previous week. As I said there
wasn’t a better team to play to get the show back on the
road.
Top 14 Table
/
Top 14 try-scorers
/
Top 14 Results
/
Top 14
Fixtures
The players in our squad who have
played international rugby likened the atmosphere in the
build up to the game to a Test match. There was certainly a
level of expectancy not normally associated with a club
game. The media and the fans all played their part in this,
as while it was a big game for the players the fans had been
looking forward to this fixture for weeks. There wasn’t a
day in the week leading up to the match that went by without
a fan highlighting the importance of the game in Marseille.
On the morning of the match hundreds of fans congregated
outside our hotel waiting for our departure to the ground.
This again is something not normally associated with a
‘normal’ game of club rugby. On the way to the ground the
main boulevard in Marseille was lined with ‘rouge et noir’
supporters and again highlighted that this in fact was not
just a ‘normal’ game of club rugby.
The Match
Someone asked me if I felt nervous
running out in front of 57,000 fans, but for me it was quite
the opposite. Inspiring is the word I would rather use. Most
rugby players live for that sort of atmosphere and I think
it takes your performance on to a new level. Quite what
Toulouse thought of the atmosphere I am not so sure, but I
am sure ‘inspiring’ is not the word Michalak would have used
when lining up to take a shot at goal to the whistles of
57,000 angry fans. The noise that he faced during that kick
was incredible and I was not surprised that he missed!
Jonny, on the other hand, was in fantastic form. His kicking
was obviously great but there is so much more to his game
than that. His defence and his tactical game kept us out in
front and he deserved all the accolades he got after the
match, but not even Jonny could stop us having to rely on a
last-minute (and potentially result altering) decision from
the video referee for the third week in a row. This time,
however, we got the bounce of the ball and the gods were
smiling in our favour. The difference between elation and
despair was a matter of inches. We have experienced both in
the last two weeks and it just shows how tight the Top 14 is
this season. It is often said that you must enjoy your
victories and the one on Sunday was certainly one to savour.
After the match walking round the field
soaking up the amazing atmosphere you couldn’t help but feel
that it wasn’t just a normal game of club rugby. However,
with rugby continuing to grow who’s to say that such a match
won’t be the norm in the future? In France, Stade Francais,
Biarritz, Bayonne and Perpignan have all moved matches to
accommodate bigger crowds and in England, Saracens recently
sold 40,000 tickets at Wembley. I was lucky enough to be
involved in this match and I only hope that more players get
to experience such occasions in the future.
A bientot.
Previous columns:
14.09.09 -
Lesson number 1 - 'Pas de melée,
pas de victoire'
('No scrum, no victory')
08.09.09 -
'The money's good, but so is the
weather, the rugby and the amazing
crowds'
