Top 14 semi-final: at what time and on which channel to watch the explosive clash between Toulouse and La Rochelle

Comme on se retrouve entre Antoine Dupont et Uini Atonio. MAXPPP – REMY GABALDA

En championnat, ce sont les Toulousains qui gagnent toujours à la fin. Jusqu’à présent en tout cas.

Exacerbated in recent years by their "mano a mano" in the Champions Cup, the rivalry in the Top 14 between La Rochelle, still in search of its first Brennus Shield, and Toulouse, which has 22 championship titles, transformed the meeting between these two clubs into & quot;classic".

Since La Rochelle's return to the Top 14 at the end of the 2013-2014 season, the club chaired by Vincent Merling has played 24 matches in the league against Stade Toulouse, its opponent in the semi-finals. final Friday in Bordeaux, for fifteen victories for the "Rouge et Noir", eight for the Maritimes and one draw (31-31), during their last confrontation on June 2.

Bête noire

Thus, while they recently shared the Champions Cup trophies (2021 and 2024 for Toulouse, 2022 and 2023 for Rochelle), in the championship, it is the Toulouse residents who win always at the end. Until now anyway.

Since 2019, against the club from the pink city, Ronan O’Gara's men have lost twice in the Top 14 final (18-8 in 2021 and 29-26 in 2023), and two other times in the final phase (20-6 in the half in 2019, 33-28 in the play-off in 2022). So, pet peeve or not ?

This Star Wars-style duel will be broadcast live on Friday June 21 at 8:15 p.m., on Canal +. The match was brought forward due to the France-Netherlands Euro 2024 match.