2024 Stade Toulousain vs Union Bordeaux Begles - Top 14 Final

Toulouse Blacks Out Bordeaux En Route To A Record Top 14 Final Victory

Stade Toulousain defeated Bordeaux-Begles 59-3 to secure the 2023-2024 Top 14 title in record fashion to go with its Investec Champions Cup title.

Jun 28, 2024 by Philip Bendon

Toulouse Blacks Out Bordeaux En Route To A Record Top 14 Final Victory

Stade Toulousain sent out a stark reminder to its Top 14 rivals that it remains the king of French Rugby, proven with a thumping of Bordeaux-Begles in Friday's final, 59-3.

Putting on a breathtaking display, the Antoine Dupont-inspired noir et rouge ran through its opponent like a finely tuned Alpine skier ducking and weaving down the slopes of Val d’Isère.

What promised to be a contest that pitted the free-flowing and all-court Bordeaux attack against a tactically astute and explosively powerful Toulouse outfit, descended into an obliteration of epic proportions.

Kicking the action off, Dupont proved once again that he is the greatest player currently walking the Earth, as he scored two sublime tries inside the opening 20 minutes, while also all but putting Peato Mauvaka over the whitewash for one in-between.

Already in a near unassailable 22-3 lead at halftime, Toulouse removed the safety lever and hit the overdrive button in the second half.

Running in six tries through Thomas Ramos (two), Julian Marchand, Blair Kinghorn, David Ainuu and Ange Capuozzo, Toulouse added an exclamation mark to an already dominant performance.

Trying to describe this Toulouse side, one could find oneself going down a wormhole of hyperbole, which, in the end, would still not do them justice. In short, they are the greatest rugby team of the modern era and quite possibly of all time.

As the streets of Marseille ready themselves for an avalanche of rugby fans to flood out from the ultra-futuristic Stade Vélodrome, the celebrations this Toulouse team are set to unleash could well outdo their all-time showing on the pitch.