A week before the Champions Cup final against Leinster, Ugo Mola left his stars to rest. During the 24th day of Top 14, Stade Toulousain will face Montpellier with a completely overhauled team.
This Saturday afternoon, Stade Toulousain travels to one of the teams involved in the fight for survival, Montpellier. Already qualified for the final stages of the Top 14, Toulouse will go with a revamped XV, one week before the Champions Cup final against Leinster.
Now or never for the MHR
13th in the Top 14 with seven points behind Lyon, first non-relegation, Montpellier is condemned to create the feat this Saturday afternoon at home against the Toulouse ogre to avoid the play-off at the end of the season. To win, Patrice Collazo will be deprived of Louis Carbonel, forfeited due to a concussion suffered last week against Castres (27-26 defeat). Regular number 9, Léo Coly will form the hinge with the South African world champion Cobus Reinach. At a press conference, the MHR coach returned to the narrow defeat in Castres (27-26), letting precious points slip away in the race to maintain: “Money time is a reflection of a season. When you’ve lacked control all season, you can’t come out and say that we’re trying to control as many things as possible. But we also see that as soon as we don’t master something, we immediately get into difficulty and we pay cash for it. It’s the opposite of Toulouse which has mastered its season and is arriving. “It’s the difference between a team that’s first and a team that’s second to last.”
If remaining in the Top 14 is mathematically still possible, U20 world champion Leni Nouchi is aware that Montpellier will have to fight: “It’s true that we have one foot in the dam, we cannot deny it. Now we have world class players in the team who have already played matches under pressure much more than at the moment, so we have to use them too, try to learn from them and follow the group, follow the leaders that are in this team, the oldest, to pick up the slope and continue to move forward despite poor results.
Head to Leinster
In his quest for a sixth star in the Champions Cup, Ugo Mola preferred to do without his best elements for this Top 14 poster in Montpellier, one week before a shock against the Irish armada of Leinster. Already qualified for the final stages of the championship, Toulouse can afford to have the right to a wildcard match three days before the end of the regular season. Indeed, Ange Capuozzo and his teammates are first with seven points ahead of 3rd. Despite this lack of challenge on the Toulouse side, the starting players will be keen to do well as Arthur Retière announced at a press conference: “We prepared for it like all matches. It’s important for us to win away and stay first. We prepared for it as well as the other matches. It’s a team that will play from everywhere with its audience. It will be up to us to counter them, to put on the best possible match to hope to win.”
Defense coach, Laurent Thuery wants 100% commitment from the players present: “We will have to play our rugby but we will have to respond to the intensity of Montpellier. We know the strength of their forwards. They have good ball carriers, especially in the center. We will have to respond to that in order to exist. It’s not easy to manage with a week like ours but it’s up to us to show seriousness.”.
What time does Montpellier – Toulouse start?
The kick-off of the match of the 24th day of Top 14 between Montpellier and Toulouse is scheduled Saturday May 18 at 3:00 p.m. at the GGL Stadium in Montpellier (France). Adrien Marbot will be the referee of the match.
On which channel to watch Montpellier – Toulouse?
Holder of the TV rights for the Top 14, Canal+ will distribute the poster between Montpellier residents and Toulouse residents.
How to follow Montpellier – Toulouse in streaming?
If you wish to watch the match of the 24th day of Top 14 between the MHR and the Toulouse residents on your computer, smartphone or tablet, you will need to take out a subscription on MyCanal.
What are the compositions of Montpellier – Toulouse?
Montpellier: 15. Weaver; 14. Ngandebe, 13. Cadot, 12. Serfontein, 11. Bridge; 10. Coly, 9. Reinach; 7. Tauleigne, 8. Simmonds, 6. Nouchi; 5. Chalureau, 4. Verhaeghe; 3. Japaridze, 2. Tolofua, 1. Erdocio.
Toulouse: 15. Capuozzo; 14. Retière, 13. Delibes, 12. Barassi, 11. Bituniyata; 10. Delpy, 9. Germain; 7. Brennan, 8. T. Ntamack, 6. Castro-Ferreira; 5. Fa’asalele (cape), 4. Vergé; 3. Merkler, 2. Cramont, 1. Trauth.
What are the predictions for Montpellier – Toulouse?
- Betclic: Montpellier: 1.22 / Draw: 25.00 / Toulouse: 4.20
- Bwin: Montpellier: 1.25 / Draw: 16.50 / Toulouse: 3.50
- France-pari: Montpellier: 1.23 / Draw: 23.00 / Toulouse: 3.70
- Unibet: Montpellier: 1.27 / Draw: 22.50 / Toulouse: 3.32