Toulouse Rugby

Written while watching Toulouse v. Harlequins in the Heineken Cup on 17th January 2010.

If there is one club in the whole world I would like to play for, it is Toulouse. Ever since I have watched rugby they have been the one side who can consistently produce magic over the years. Always having had a soft spot for the player who can produce something from nothing, with the spark of individuality, players such as Jean Baptiste Elissalde, Freddie Michalak and Cedric Heymans have always led me to sit down and gawp. As I write, the newest addition to this band of runners, which includes the enigmatic Clement Poitrenaud, Maxime Medard, has finished off a sumptuous try. But the way in which such a culture, a winning and entertaining culture, develops is fascinating to me. Obviously all the players, from 1 to 15 have the skills but the same can be said for most teams at the highest level. There exists an attitude, an idea of how they want to play the game which must exist on the training ground.

They also have the swagger to pull it off. Where other teams would resort to the boot, they come off a right foot and set off on an arcing run, breaking half-tackles and offloading with reckless abandon. The enjoyment is obvious for all to see. Too often in some teams one player has the cojones to stamp his talent on the game but his teammates are left trailing in the same dust his opposition are. With this band of mainly Frenchmen but also a gaggle of South Sea Islanders and Tri Nations Missionaries, there seems to be some sort of connection where the default setting is to play.

It's also worth noting the impact of a player like Yannick Jauzion. Without his huge frame taking Toulouse forward over the years, the space nor the platform would have been created to allow the flyers to fly.

It doesn't happen every week, so often the Gallic shrug intervenes which says "we just don't fancy it today" and this simply makes them more exciting to watch. They can turn it on and off, playing with the humble spectator.

So I hope Toulouse continue to threaten in the Heineken Cup this year so we can all enjoy their exotic brand of je ne sais pas right to the final because it is this sort of rugby that should be rewarded with trophies, especially in a game which is moving away from the players Toulouse like to employ.