Josh Turnbull Confident Ahead Of Toulouse Clash

Cardiff Rugby back row Josh Turnbull is relishing the chance to face the TOP14 side, who are tipped as heavy favourites, at the Stade Ernest Wallon, and he is confident that the Welsh region can cause an upset. 

“They’ve got a lot of history in the competition and they’ve been really successful as of late, but I look back to 2018 when we beat them home and away,” Turnbull said, “Then there’s the year when we had Covid and we were stuck in South Africa and we had to play with a lot of academy players and some pros, and they really stood up. 

“The squad that Stade Toulouse have got is pretty formidable, but we’re looking forward to the next couple weeks and getting stuck into it.” 

Stade Toulouse will be battling for a record-extending sixth triumph in EPCR’s elite competition, having won five in total including that first edition in 1996 over Cardiff Rugby. 

“I think it would be worth having a look [at the first final],” Turnbull said, “it could be something we throw on before the first game.” 

Cardiff Rugby are looking forward to a return to the Investec Champions Cup after they competed in the EPCR Challenge Cup last season. 

“I look at the team we could potentially put out and its pretty strong,” Turbull said. “Those academy players who played a couple of years ago [against Stade Toulouse] are now ingrained in our team and playing on a weekly basis.” 

Cardiff Rugby’s battle with Stade Toulouse will start at 15:15 on Saturday, and is available to watch on beIN Sports, France TV, S4C, SuperSport, TNT Sports and FloRugby.