On paper, it still seems unbalanced. Toulouse, Toulouse, Toulouse and more Toulouse. Antoine Dupont’s teammates are the big favorites to win a 4th Brennus in five years, in the Top 14 final, this Friday, June 28 (9 p.m.) in Marseille, against Union Bordeaux-Bègles. “We don’t compare ourselves to Toulouse, it’s incomparable,” admits Yannick Bru, the Bordeaux manager. It is true that many signals tip the scales in the red and black direction.
Statistics, first. Toulouse is used to winning, often. Three of the last four Top 14, in 2019, 2021 and 2023 (knowing that there was no champion in 2020 because of Covid). Two of the last four Champions Cups (2021 and 2024). Above all, Stade Toulouse has the incredible habit of winning all the finals in which it participates, or almost. We have to go back to the 2008 European Cup, against Munster (16-13), to find traces of a Toulouse defeat in a final. Since then, the Rouge et Noir have had nine successes.
