TOP 14

News | Fixtures & Results | Standings | History

Only victory counts for Toulouse

Tuesday 05th August 2008

To the victors go the spoils: There's no lack of motivation in Toulouse

Crowned champions of France for the seventeenth time a little over six weeks ago, Toulouse have kicked off their pre-season training with one goal in mind: attaining the French-European double that eluded them last time around.

Toulouse's thrilling 26-20 win over Clermont in the Top 14 Final, in one of the best games of rugby every to grace the Stade de France, provided some consolation for the heartbreak of the Heineken Cup Final lost to Munster a month earlier. This year however, the giants form the south-west intend on going all the way.

While Toulouse might have one of the most impressive squads in European rugby, one of their biggest challenges is keeping that squad fit throughout the season.

Backs coach Philippe Roug�-Thomas was optimistic about the club's prospects and found a group of motivated players at the club's grounds at Ernest Wallon for the first day of training last week.

"The return has gone very well. There's a lot of enthusiasm and they guys are happy to see each other. Though, the holidays were a bit short," Roug�-Thomas told lesite.

The French champions will kick-off their season with a friendly against F�d�rale 1 champions Colomiers, who will play in the ProD2 this season, on Friday. While some players have the impression of having only just stopped playing, others are raring to go after long injury lay-offs.

"We started our physical training in July. The players are very enthusiastic, we've got a group of players coming back from injury that are very motivated, like (Florian) Fritz and (Celement) Poitrenaud," said the coach.

"They pull the whole group's level up. While some get lethargic, others are there to take their place. It's a challenge for us to manage the this group with regards to individualising physical preparation (with the season finishing so late).

"We're used to it, though. Every year it's the same. Except for last year because of the World Cup. When you make the Final or semi-final of competitions, the seasons get very long.

"Our foreign players had an extra week of holidays. I think they're in good condition. The group is going to be composed of a number of quality players.

"Our motivation is the same as always: we want to win as many games as possible. We don't need to explain that to the players. That's what they are here for. We're just here to help them work. Since we've got the Bouclier (de Brennus), we'll do everything possible to defend it. If we didn't have it, we would have done all that we could to win it."

Unlike some other clubs in France, Toulouse have not gone on a spending spree. Only three "new' players will join the team, all of whom are no strangers to the Ville Rose. None of the three were running with their team-mates this week since Fred Michalak is still in South Africa with the Sharks, Beno�t Lecouls will arrive from Biarritz mid-season and David Skrela is still nursing an injury.

Roug�-Thomas said that keeping their core group of players unchanged and hence maintain continuity was a big advantage for the upcoming season.

"Despite all our injuries (last season), we managed to win the title with "new" guys like (Yves) Donguy, Manu Ahotaeiloa and (Jean-Baptiste) playing out of position at fly-half - they all produced huge seasons for us. I hope we'll have less injuries this year so that we can allow players a maximum amount of time to recuperate and have a group of fresh players," he added.

The champions' coaching team are also willing to give new young players a chance - as they did years ago for players like Vincent Clerc or Cedric Heymans, who have turned out to be stars of the world game.

"If they're good, there's no reason why we shouldn't play them," said Roug�-Thomas of the youngsters being integrated into the first team from the youth squads.

"At Toulouse, we like good players. If a player is good and he deserves to play, he'll play. Whether he's young or old. It's the quality of the guy that's important. Like little (centre Charles) Gimenez for example. He's shown he's good enough and he'll be integrated this year."

As for Toulouse's goals for this season, Roug�-Thomas wasn't mincing his words.

"In sport, the objective is to win titles," he said.

"I don't see which club in the Top 14 would say that they're not playing to win. Otherwise they've got f*** all to do in the Top 14. We're aiming to win. The cherry on top will be to play well and give the fans something to cheer about."