Toulouse edge out Bordeaux; face La Rochelle in Top14 Final

Toulouse marched on to the Top14 final after overcoming a spirited Bordeaux side, and they will now face La Rochelle in a repeat of the Champions Cup final.

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La Rochelle reached their first final with a 19-6 win over Racing 92 on Friday. Romain Ntamack scored the opening try in the fourth minute for Toulouse which was quickly followed by a retort from Bordeaux through Ben Lam.

At the half time interval it was only seven points that could separate the sides as Ramos ensured Toulouse went into the tunnel 14-7 up.

In the second half Bordeaux struck back through Ben Lam’s second try and a penalty off of the boot of dynamo Matthieu Jalibert. By the 54th minute they had a slender one point lead over the European Champions.

The match was flipped on its head in the 58th minute though when Ntamack was later stretchered off with a suspected concussion after a late tackle from Ulupano Seuteni that resulted in a red card for Bordeaux’s Samoan centre.

Bordeaux couldn’t keep up with the pace of Toulouse and a try and three penalties by Ramos was enough to emphatically deliver a victory for the men in red despite the best effort of Jalibert who retorted with two further penalties of his own.

The final of the Top14 will take place at the Stade de France in Paris on June 25.