The Toulouse rear coach looks back on the victory of his team in the semi-finals of the Top 14 this Friday, against Racing, in San Sebastian.
Clément Poitrenaud (Toulouse full-back coach, winner of Racing 41-14 on Friday in the semi-finals of the Top 14) : “We all know that in these high-stakes, high-stakes matches, anything can happen. Above all, we shouldn’t think that because we had finished first (in the regular season, editor’s note), that we had beaten Racing twice this season, it was going to be simple tonight. The boys obviously responded to their commitment, their desire to go and hang on to this final and I think we had a rather good match (…) This group does not want to stop in the semi -final. Even if two semi-finals (last year in the Top 14 and in the Champions Cup, editor’s note), it may seem like a relatively decent season for most, very honestly, for us it was a bit complicated to swallow.
It continued with this new half lost to Leinster (in the Champions Cup) when we had the feeling of having prepared it properly and being ready to fight. There was tension before the meeting. We wanted to ward off fate and go back to Paris. Afterwards, Stade Toulouse in the final is not necessarily Stade Toulouse in the semi-finals. I hope it will bring us luck.»
Statements taken at a press conference