The ‘bit of bulls***’ that Bordeaux have dismissed ahead of Top 14 final rematch with Toulouse
The red-capped Louis Bielle-Biarrey celebrates a Bordeaux try in last month's Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse
Jefferson Poirot has dismissed the revenge factor heading into next Saturday’s Top 14 final rematch between Bordeaux and Toulouse. The loosehead’s club were battered in last year’s French decider, losing 3-59 in a desperately one-sided affair in Marseille.
Toulouse have since topped the 2024/25 regular-season table, finishing 12 points clear of second-place Bordeaux.
Poirot, though, insisted the build-up to next weekend’s rematch in Paris won’t be affected by all the talk outside the camp about revenge for last season humiliation.
“There is no room for emotion,” he insisted following Bordeaux’s 39-24 semi-final win over Toulon on Saturday night in Lyon. “Revenge, all that, it’s a bit of bulls***.
“The reality is that a final is won on small details: a good conquest, ground play, defence… Okay, we have a good attack, we talk about it a lot, but defence is very important too, and we made mistakes again this Saturday evening. We’re going to try to focus on that.”
Since last summer’s defeat in the final, Bordeaux have beaten Toulouse three times in succession. They won both regular-season league encounters, winning 16-12 away last September and 32-24 at home in March. They also ended Toulouse’s Champions Cup title defence with a 35-18 home success last month that was followed by victory in the final over Northampton in Cardiff.
“We mustn’t let emotions get carried away…”
That triumph in the European decider came with a sting in the tail for Poirot as a post-match incident with Saints’ Henry Pollock resulted in a two-match ban that left him sidelined until this weekend’s league semi-final. Fresh from his 54 minutes of action as the starting No 1, the prop shrugged off Bordeaux’s recent run of success against Toulouse.
“Honestly, Toulouse in the final isn’t the same team, the level of intensity they had last year in the final. The level of intensity they had in the final really surprised us. We thought they were really above us in terms of commitment. Toulouse in the final is never the same team.
“Last year taught us a lesson. We remained very humble because last year, we were jubilant. We thought it was a done deal. We then experienced the worst sporting nightmare for the entire squad, including the coaching staff. We mustn’t let emotions get carried away during this period. Maybe last year, we overdid it.
“We’re going to play Toulouse. Statistically, they are still the best team in the league by far in terms of forwards. They are the best team on the ball, they are the best attack, the best defence… In all honesty, we know what awaits us in that regard. We also saw (in their semi-final won over Bayonne) where they did a job, especially with Jack Willis. A real battle awaits us.”
