Toulouse coach Guy Novès was sending a message to the bosses of the French championship by sending an under-strength team to France's biggest game.
Although disappointed by his team's performance against Stade Français, Novès does not regret sending an under strength team to the capital.
Toulouse left almost all their first choice players at home in a move that received some staunch criticism, least of all from Stade Français president Max Guazzini who was livid to see a sold out Stade de France deprived of a sporting spectacle.
Toulouse lost 29-0, but for Novès, the result was less important than it's underlying causes, namely an overcharged calendar that demands too much from international players.
"We wanted to draw attention to the infernal workload being imposed on the players with the team we brought," he told Lesite.
"The players have had to play the World Cup, followed immediately by the Top 14 and the European Cup and then the Six Nations. They haven't stopped. It's completely daft.
"We have to find a solution because the players are being worn out. They are getting seriously injured.
"Since they take our players away from us ahead of important games, we're obliged to sign foreign players to replace them. If we want less foreign players in the championship, they must stop the clashes."
Commenting on the scathing comments emanating the Stade Français presidency, Novès remained diplomatic.
"We don't always only say nice things [to each other]. There is no problem between Max Guazzini and the managers of Stade Toulousain. I don't want to say what he said to me, but there's no major problem," he said.
"I don't think we deserved what he said about us. We're not jealous of anyone. We don't have to be when we're the most successful club in France. But we're still friends and he's looking forward to playing us in more serious conditions."
On Friday Toulouse host Biarritz in front of a full house. A week later they meet Cardiff in a Heineken Cup quarter-final and two weeks after that host the Top 14's in-form side, Clermont.
With a difficult few weeks of the horizon one can understand Novès decision to choose his battles carefully.
"I think this match will help us remobilise our group," Novès explained.
"The future is more important for us. We are still 14 points ahead of Paris and in no danger of not qualify for the semi-finals.
"We have to prepare ourselves for Biarritz and Cardiff. We were correct to let some players recuperate. They were very tired after the Six Nations and the start of the season.
"It's always difficult to manage a season, especially after a World Cup. I absolutely had to let the majority of the players recuperate."
That said, losing is never easy, especially for the leaders of the championship, and Novès admits that he expected more from his side.
"We could have been a bit more competitive," he said.
"We were unable to string two consecutive phases together and dropped practically every ball we tried to use to attack a hyper-motivated Parisian side.
"29-0 is a fair reflection of the match. I feel for the spectators. We expected to do much better.
"The Parisians were all over us, they won the duels and made us drop the ball. We lost too much possession in the line-outs and rucks.
"Only two or three players played well. I'm thinking of those who played for the first time like little Bezy and Mazières. They showed in difficult circumstances what they can bring us in the future."
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