Top 14: broken momentum, shipwreck at the Vélodrome, recurring indiscipline..., Toulon running out of steam

An unbeaten home run shattered. In spectacular fashion, a resounding 50-16 . While the top-of-the-table encounter between Toulon and Toulouse had been relocated to the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, RCT is no longer unbeaten at home this season. Only Aviron Bayonnais remains in this position. The end of the run for RCT, weighed down by the expulsion of its scrum-half and playmaker Baptiste Serin (suspended until May 18 after receiving two yellow cards). "It's a big disappointment. You can't play Toulouse in these conditions," lamented Var manager Pierre Mignoni. "There's not much to say. When you play 60 minutes with 14 or 13 players, it's complicated. There's nothing to say about the match."

The momentum was shattered in a month. The narrow defeat against Toulouse (18-21) in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup ultimately left more of a mark than anyone expected. The club with the lily of the valley was able to bounce back quickly by dominating Clermont at Mayol (31-24) but then suffered a brutal relapse away to newly promoted Vannes (29-19) and then against Toulouse (16-50). Strong words from flanker Esteban Abadie on Canal +: " Conceding 50 here is shameful. It's not our team, our face. Sure, Toulouse is a very good team, but today (Saturday) we got what we deserved. Too much indiscipline. We didn't manage to put them under pressure once. In the end, the score was heavy, but deserved..."

Let's shut our mouths and get back to work.

Esteban Abadie

For international prop Dany Priso , interviewed by Var Matin , there is "anger, because what we produced on the pitch, you cannot accept it. For Toulouse, taking 50 grains at home is unacceptable. It is not the image of the club that we have built this season. Not having a response like that, it is not us. It must not happen again. But Pierre Mignoni intends to remobilize his troops: "We will stay together, even if people will let us down in my opinion. It is part of the game. Tonight, we are disappointed especially for all of our supporters in Toulon but also in the South Region. We have had too many complications to compete." The Toulon technician then clarified his thoughts on the podcast Les causeries de la Rade , advancing his dig was not aimed at Toulon supporters but rather at certain people in the club's environment.

In Toulon, "everything is different," proclaims the RCT slogan. And it is. Because, despite three defeats in four matches, the situation is far from alarming, the club is still third in the standings and is clinging to the coattails (two points) of Bordeaux-Bègles, who also stumbled heavily in Montpellier . " We are third in the championship, it is not the place we deserve at the moment. We are going to shut our mouths and get back to work," asserts Esteban Abadie nonetheless . "We cannot win the match with the defense. But nothing is lost. The objective is to qualify, we will do everything to do so."

A reaction is therefore expected this Saturday against Section Paloise, who are coming off a victory on the Lyon pitch (27-29) . We have known more peaceful hostile places than the Hameau to revive ourselves. "There are three matches left. It's not the end of the season. We will see how we react," insists Pierre Mignoni. He adds: "We must refocus on Pau, with our heads held high. We are capable of doing better. We are capable of playing different rugby. We are capable of being more dangerous. Since this quarter-final, we have been in the tough. We must raise our heads, we must not give up and stay together." Rekindle the flame.