French rugby Updates : Le café du Rugby.

I wouldn't be too critical of the Seuteni decision to shoot. There was a massive overlap for Toulouse and they were likely to make a big line break down the left. When Ntamack got the ball, he had 5 team mates outside him with only Seuteni and Leyds in the defensive line facing him. Dulin was nowhere to be seen on the linebreak as he was sweeping across to outside Leyds to cover the wider position having also spotted the mismatch.

But if you shoot, you need to do something to at least slow the man down. Ntamack got past him without any issue which allowed him be in full stride when Leyds attempted his tackle.

This is the sort of scenario that La Rochelle are vulnerable to. Frustrating to see as a Leinster fan as they clearly set up to defend aggressively and narrowly. They don't have the mobility to keep the top teams at bay out wide so are dependent on keeping possession. Even Exeter repeatedly opened them up there. When you have a team of absolute monsters, they're not going to have the legs/mobility to get across on quick ball.

Toulouse had the better of the breakdown overall which meant that La Rochelle didn't hold onto the ball for long periods as they'd have hoped. Crucially, when Toulouse got their hands on the ball, some of their exits were top class. They picked off 9 points in the second half from breakdown penalties once they were able to push La Rochelle back into their own half. I'm still dubious as to the fitness of Botia coming back on. He was relatively anonymous around the field after that knee to the head and had little presence at the breakdown.

Somewhat disingenuous of ROG to undermine the Toulouse performance by saying they were average on the night and profited from LAR mistakes. At least 13 points for La Rochelle came from unforced knock ons off the top of my head. Their opening try was due to Cros spilling a simple pass on his own 5m line which gave LAR a scrum and they were over within 2 phases. Then two second half penalties were down to unchallenged fielders dropping catches (one saw a team mate play from an offside position immediately and the other led to a penalty from the resulting scrum).

But he always tells the truth apparently.

He’s also known for having angry rants at referees, his own fans and now opposition teams, who have the audacity to beat him. He seems incredibly thin skinned. He also comes across as being very self serving in his “honesty” A La the comments about Goodman in the lead up to the final. Which people choose to ignore, in the narrative, that he’s a straight talker.

Nice hint of a dummy/making it look as if he might pass outside to buy a crucial few extra inches of space so he can break past Leyds too. I was wondering if Larmour or Ringrose would keep the defender in two minds like that or would they purely commit to running earlier and make Leyds's job a little bit easier.

Backed by plenty of evidence, I'd argue everything ROG says when it impacts him is self-serving. He'll even completely contradict himself when he is trying to be self-serving in different ways - one minute LAR is still a small club underdog story supported financially by the local community and the next he is fabricating slights out of thin air that his team is being treated like a small team. Absolutely agree he isn't the first coach to do that but it isn't 'honesty'.

He gets praised by Irish media for his 'honesty' because they fawn over the access to such a famous player and coach who doesn't use as much 'coach speak'. Again, not using as many clichés isn't 'honesty'.

Even him speaking so much to Irish media isn't out of the goodness of his own heart - it is again completely self-serving for him. He isn't doing it to be 'honest', he is doing it to keep himself front of mind in Ireland and set his own narrative, knowing that the presenters aren't going to push back on him. It is an incredibly smart move by a very smart man, negating one of the biggest downsides to career growth when coaching abroad.

On his comments from the weekend, it is hardly surprising that he was classless in losing after he showed his classlessness in victory a few weeks before. As I said at the time, he needs to get this out of his system and mature before he becomes Irish coach, as that kind of stuff simply wont fly when he is under proper media scrutiny. Cullen would have been rightfully hung by the media if he came out with such petulant comments after either EC finals, where his sides lost in very similar fashion.

I've watched the game back a couple of times (really cracking game) and I think La Rochelle were mentally wobbly in the game and looked like they were really feeling the occasion. They made some really uncharacteristic errors that killed them. In that area, I think they can probably look at their preparation and mental approach/decisions on the field (much like Leinster a couple of weeks ago). Not sure if that's the fault of any coaching staff or the players just feeling it on the day but it was fairly stark when watching it back given guys who were making errors were absolute rocks all season.

Hastoy is one of the best kickers in Europe and missed two fairly straightforward shots at goal. He also went for a hasty snap drop goal which he pulled left when it wasn't a particularly tough one even if it was a surprising decision. Danty (who was bloody atrocious) spilled a ball in contact for the try, conceded at least two penalties and was marched back 10m for dissent which brought Ramos into kicking range (and he slotted it). He also got blocked down trying to put in a bizarre kick just outside the Toulouse 22. Alldritt dropped a simple catch with nobody around him. He also took a quick throw to Dulin when totally unnecessary which directly led to a three pointer for Ramos. That's probably two more unforced errors than he has made this season.

They really lacked attacking shape. Leyds made a brilliant win in the air to put them deep in Toulouse territory in the first half before the back line played hot potato and Danty juggled it to Ntamack who broke away. Despite having 60% possession, Toulouse had more meters made with ball in hand and looked far more threatening when moving the ball.

I would say there are a dozen moments LAR would want back after that game. The Toulouse defence was superb. The Antonio try aside (which was largely as a result of a very clever block from Alldritt which was fortunate to not get called), they repeatedly knocked LAR back in contact once LAR got inside the opposition 22. LAR had 11 entries onto the Toulouse 22 which should be enough for more points on the board and to put the game to bed but some of the Toulouse hits and linespeed was savage.

Toulouse dealt with their maul very well thanks to their own size and power. La Rochelle went down the line 7 times to set up their maul but only got one penalty ultimately from it, I think.

On further watching, I think La Rochelle should have won it purely on possession/territory but I'm less convinced by them being the clear better side. Toulouse pinched it but they deserved to be in that position after 75mins based on their defence and kicking game....Dupont in particular put two or three touchfinders in that were absurdly good.

I think coaches should be granted some leeway after big matches. They’re probably not thinking straight, so let’s not take them too literally.