‘Chills’ – Siya Kolisi relished Toulouse atmosphere
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Sharks flanker Siya Kolisi may have been on the losing side against Stade Toulousain in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals but one aspect he enjoyed about last Saturday’s game was the raucous atmosphere at the Stade Ernest Wallon.
The South African World Cup-winning captain saw his team’s maiden EPCR campaign come to an end as they went down 54-20 at the five-time champions.
Kolisi, who will become more acquainted with Toulouse when he joins their TOP 14 rivals Racing 92 in the summer, commented on the club’s passionate supporters following the game.
“I got chills, honestly,” he said. “I’ve played in many stadiums but here it’s ‘wow’! When we arrived by bus before the game, a lot of people were waiting along the barriers, it was incredible.
“It says a lot about the club. The fans carry the players with unwavering support. It’s beautiful to see. We knew what to expect against Stade Toulousain.
“It’s hard to have lost but it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve played.
“In the city centre, you meet a lot of people with the club’s shirt on their shoulders, old and young.
“Everyone pushes behind their team, wherever we go in Toulouse, they love rugby. They welcomed us very well and in the end, they let us know we had lost.”
Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell said the heavy defeat was a tough one to accept and although he couldn’t fault his team’s desire, he conceded that they lacked the accuracy necessary to overcome a team of Toulouse’s pedigree.
“[It was a] big effort, big fight,” he said. “The guys really tried hard, and they left everything out there on the field. [But] just too many mistakes again,” he added.
“Especially if you get into the knockout stages, it’s really important to be a lot more clinical, try to eliminate your team mistakes and individual mistakes and unfortunately, we weren’t as clinical as we would have hoped to be.
“If it’s knockout stages and away games as well, against a very good Toulouse team that understands what it takes to be successful in these types of competitions.
“But like I said, a massive disappointment. I felt we really gave it our all and we were in it for probably 65, 67 minutes in that game and then unfortunately we couldn’t finish it.”
