Régis Sonnes sings Toulouse praises
Toulouse joint-head coach Régis Sonnes expressed delight at his side’s dramatic 28-27 Champions Cup upset of Leinster on Sunday.
A beautifully worked 70th-minute Maxime Medard try, which showed Toulouse’s breathtaking ability to transition from defence to attack, gave the Top 14 side a memorable one-point victory over the defending champions at Stade Ernest-Wallon.
“We are very proud,” said Sonnes, the recently appointed joint-head coach.
“Very proud for the team, the players because we have a very young team with big potential and today, with injuries and suspensions, we had a lot of players out. The young players showed the way, they took the opportunity and enjoyed the game I think. We won on confidence for the future, we know now we have big potential for the team.
“The mentality was positive, because beating Leinster could be a historic exploit for us. We tried to beat the best team in Europe playing our game to the maximum level and to enjoy the moment with the supporters.”
What makes the feat even more special is the fact that the average age of the Toulouse starting XV was 25, with many of those making their debut Champions Cup appearances.
“Thomas [Ramos], Romain [Ntamack], the Number eight [Selevasio Tolofua], the prop [David Ainu’u] is just 18 years old. Eighteen! It is incredible, some lads were winning their first European Cup cap, six or seven, it’s incredible,” enthused Sonnes.
“It’s great for confidence, we worked very hard all the weeks and I think and hope they can understand the potential, to have more maturity and confidence for the future to be a strong team. We are far away from Leinster’s level, we need more consistency. But big potential. We are happy for it.”
Toulouse, who have won the Champions Cup a joint record four times, can now dare to dream of their first title since 2010.
Sonnes added: “Two years ago, last year perhaps with the new president and the new coach you can feel a new positive atmosphere. A restart for the club. We hoped and today, last week in Bath too, that puts Toulouse back in the cycle. We know we have a lot of jobs to do again, but we are on the way – we hope.”