The context of the Challenge Cup final
Lou
Le Lou will play the first European final in its history in Marseille. He even plays the first final of the Mignoni era which will end at the end of the season. United around their manager, the Lyon players want to offer him the best possible outing by winning the Challenge Cup, a competition where they are undefeated this season (7 wins). But it won’t be easy.
Given their inexperience at this level, the lack of consistency in the performance of the Lyon collective lately and the trauma suffered during the defeat (43-10) in the Top 14 at Gerland on April 2 against… Toulon, the Lou does not leave with the favors of the prognosis. He will therefore have to release the reference match after which he has been running in vain since the start of the season to bring down Toulon.
Toulon
Red lantern of the Top 14 in early February, RC Toulonnais walks on water and overturns everything in its path since Franck Azéma took over. He made a fantastic comeback which will allow him to qualify for Racing on the last day of the championship.
Sure of its strength, the Var collective also relies on talented individuals, experienced in high-level matches. The invincible Toulon armada, which is on a series of six successes in a row, will also present itself in full force this Friday evening against LOU in the final of the Challenge Cup. Big favourite, the RCT wants to strike a blow by winning the only trophy missing from its list.
The figures of the final
9
Le Lou will play the 9th final in its history in Marseille. He won five: two Boucliers de Brennus (1932, 1933) and three French 2nd division championship titles (1989, 1992, 2002). He lost three in the 2nd division (1983) and in Pro D2 (2005, 2010).
3
The Toulon jersey is adorned with three stars. It symbolizes the three titles won in the Champions Cup in 2013, 2014, 2015. But the RCT also lost three finals of the… Challenge Cup in 2010 against Cardiff (28-21), in 2012 against Biarritz (21-18 ) and in 2020 against Bristol (32-19). Toulon are in the running to become the 5th club in European tournament history to win both the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup. To date, only Leinster Bath, Northampton and Wasps have achieved this European double.
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The keys to the game
Lou
The Lyonnais still remember the humiliation suffered at Gerland on April 2 against Toulon. That day, the Lyon collective had been dominated in all areas of the game, both physically and strategically, constantly under pressure and without a solution. But to defeat the armada of Toulon, he will first have to ensure clean conquests, which has not always been the case lately. Because without ammunition, the Lou will not exist against Toulon!
He will also have to develop an unfailing defensive aggressiveness to put himself at the level of intensity of the Toulonnais. He will finally have to rely on the discipline of Trappist monks so as not to give easy points to Carbonel, but also a little more control in the execution to connect his game to direct current. “If we deliver a smooth performance, without flavor, we will lose. So we’re going to try to surprise them and bring about success,” confides Pierre Mignoni.
Toulon
Sure of its strength and power, the Toulon armada has seemed invincible since the beginning of spring. Her stifling show of collective strength was pushed to its climax against Saracens in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup during which she had managed to disgust the English collective, yet a reference in the matter.
The RCT relies on a destructive pack that has very few equals in Europe. Solid on the conquest phases, he also hurts very badly in defense and in the ground game, while his balls carried are a lethal weapon. Its Serin – Carbonel hinge manages the score of the Toulon orchestra with the stick. The center Paia’aua is the regulator of the line of attack, where the rear triangle composed of small templates Villière, Kolbe and Luc sends the shivers to the opposing defense on each intervention. In short, this team, complete in all its lines, seems unplayable when it is on a good day.
The player to watch at Lou
Baptiste Couilloud
Top scorer in the Top 14 with 10 tries, to which must be added 3 other tries in the Challenge Cup, Baptiste Couilloud has had a season full of ups and downs. Able to make the difference with his eye and his burst of speed to rush into intervals or arrive at the support of his teammates, he has been in trouble lately.
He sometimes has a tendency to lose the thread of the game on the strategic level and to “overplay”. The Lyon collective needs a great performance from its “match winner” to beat Toulon. His duel with the master of the RCT, Baptiste Serin, is likely to be decisive.
The player to follow in Toulon
Gabin Villiere
Gabin Villière is an unclassifiable player. An outstanding finisher, he is a difficult zebulon to stop with the ball in hand. But this winger also behaves like a forward ninth and can turn into poison. Fierce in defense, this small size (1.80 m, 90 kilos), toned and explosive, likes to scrap in the middle of the “big”, where his science and his intelligence of scraping allow him to recover many balls. His confrontation with Josua Tuisova promises to be explosive!