The MHR officially a roadblock: the combined miracle of a stroke of luck will not take place in Montpellier

Les Montpelliérains terminent, comme depuis sept matches, la tête basse au coup de sifflet final. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

The Montpellier residents suffered their seventh consecutive defeat in all competitions against Stade Toulousain, this Saturday May 18 (22-26). They are condemned to play the play-off match on June 16 (6 p.m.) against the losing finalist of Pro D2.

They wanted to be settled after the match against Toulouse. They are. With Lyon's victory against Racing (20-14), the combined miracle of a stroke of luck will not take place. The MHR will be on the pitch on Sunday 16& ;nbsp;next June at 6 p.m. He will play the jump-off there. Not the one that allows you to reach the semi-finals of Top 14, but the one to ensure your survival in the elite by facing the losing finalist of Pro D2.

And history will remember that these are little "merdeux" from Toulouse – the expression is emotional – who brought about this unthinkable fate ten months ago. The Red and Black kids taught the lesson, showed the MHR everything that it is not. A club with an infinite reservoir, inhabited by a confidence bordering on insolence. "We came to have fun, to play rugby", dared center Dimitri Delibes who, at 25 years old, was old office Saturday afternoon. On the field, it would have been curious to see if the juniors would not have done as well.

The Toulouse bottle-feeding class has, we can say, humiliated worn-out, tired, disoriented people from Hérault. Penaltouches rather than points, excessive raises from their 22 meters… The C team of the reigning French champions put on a show at the GGL Stadium. The afternoon nightmare was in sight at 26-7 in the 25th minute.

C'est terminé les Cistes s'inclinent face au Stade toulousain en ouverture de la #24 de TOP 14#teamMHR #MHRST pic.twitter.com/MBvzcu7ghA

— Montpellier Rugby (@MHR_officiel) May 18, 2024

"We talked in the locker room, that the players"

Montpellier’s pride made it possible not to take forty. An unexpected success was even in the spotlight. The cartridges to win, Patrice Collazo's men had them. But they were starting too far away to hope for better. The mistakes at the start of the match (return to Cobus Reinach's missed 22 meters on the first try, missed penalty from Auguste Cadot, forward touch from Lenni Nouchi on the third), the players paid for them in cash in the money -time. And in the end, for the seventh time in a row, the Cists finished the match with their heads bowed.

The weekends come one after the other and the features are more marked on the faces of Montpellier. The majority of the staff, looking haggard when the final whistle blows, are already in knots in their brains about how to manage the next four weeks of competition.

The players spoke to each other. "We talked in the locker roome, than the players. On decided to move forward together, to never let go of each other. We needed to say it in each other's eyes", assured Captain Lenni Nouchi. The time will seem long, very long, until next June 16.

I subscribe to read more