Toulouse-Leinster: “There is real osmosis, real complicity between the players, everyone is excited”, confides Ntamack before the final against Leinster

Romain Ntamack-Antoine Dupont, le ticket choc toulousain pour terrasser les Irlandais du Leinster en finale de la Coupe des champions. MAXPPP – LAURENT DARD

"A dream final if we have the chance to win in the end", warns Ntamack before the final cut of the Champions Cup.

The Champions Cup final on Saturday in London between Toulouse and Leinster "makes everyone salivate", recognizes Romain Ntamack, who however warns: "It will be a dream final if we have the chance to win in the end".

Can we talk about a dream finale?

It will be a dream final if we are lucky enough to win in the end. But it’s true that playing a final against Leinster, who are the second most successful team in Europe after us, makes everyone salivate. Leinster has not really been successful for us in recent years (three semi-final defeats in 2019, 2022 and 2023). We will have these matches in mind. We're going to analyze them and try to build on everything that didn't work to do better this time.

Most of us were raised here, and we will do everything to continue to make it (the club) grow.

Your manager Ugo Mola recently said that your generation has not yet marked the history of the club as much as some of its predecessors. Do you share this feeling ?

We are starting to mark it little by little. This generation wants to win everything, all the time. We give ourselves the means to do so each season and it’s true that we have to manage to realize all the efforts made […] We all love this club, we have been raised here for the most part, and we will do everything to continue to make it grow.

How do you judge your progress over the last few years ?

The group hasn't changed much overall in six-seven years. Most of the executives are still there. Experiencing great moments, like Top 14 finals or semi-finals, even if they are lost, gives us experience. We are able to approach these kinds of tough matches more calmly. And we manage to find resources that we might not have had before.

The talk, all week, is to have fun

The Stade Toulouse has exuded a form of plenitude since the start of this Champions Cup. Do you feel the same way ?

There is a real osmosis, a real complicity between the players, whether on the field or off. Each player wants to make the effort for his friend. Everyone pulls themselves up in training, everyone has a banana. It’s always easier when the results follow. It’s true that we release something that makes us sure of our strength. Even if I think we can still do much better.

How do you feel on the pitch when everything is smiling on you, like in the first half of the semi-final against Harlequins (38-26) ?

We are playing a semi-final of the European Cup, we could be a little taken by the pressure, by the stakes, but the talk all week is to have fun. It’s really the key word that drives us every season. And when we manage to have fun on the field, we find ourselves with our eyes closed. We also have fun with big defensive sequences, difficult sequences from which we come out with our heads held high.

I put all titles at the same level;

Where do you rank the 2021 European title in your record ?

I put all titles on the same level. There are still finals won, trophies lifted. This European final was my first, in all competitions, as a starter. We went for it in a fairly tight match against La Rochelle. It’s an exceptional memory, the first European title of our generation. We celebrated it as it should be.

Would a new Champions Cup coronation erase the disappointment of not being able to participate in the last World Cup in France because of your knee injury  ?

I've already deleted it, it's behind me. Whether there is victory or defeat in the final, it will not erase anything that I experienced during my injury. I tried to take all the positives from it and I still try to do so every day. I project myself forward.

Did you expect to return to this level so quickly ?

Maybe not so quickly. I hadn't necessarily set myself a goal of playing time or being a starter in the matches that matter. All the work done during my rehabilitation – I ate my black bread well for several months – pay today. It makes me happy, I am satisfied with my performance, even if I think I can still do much better.