Originally scheduled for this Sunday 21 September (9pm) at the Mayol stadium, the match between Toulon and La Rochelle was put back because of the heavy rain that hit the Var during the evening. The game will now take place on Saturday 8 November, the same day as France’s first autumn test against South Africa.

The weather had the last word. On Sunday 21 September at 9.40pm, the Ligue nationale de rugby (LNR) announced the postponement of the match between Toulon and La Rochelle, the last game of round 3 of Top 14, because of the storm front sitting over the Var and the Mayol stadium.

Although the prefecture had allowed it to go ahead earlier in the day, the fixture was finally called off for safety reasons, to the great frustration of supporters. “The safety conditions and the state of the pitch did not allow the match to be played properly“, the game’s referee Jérémy Rozier repeated again and again on Canal +, after the decision was taken in consultation with those involved.

The same day as France – South Africa

The new date has therefore been set for Saturday 8 November at 4.30pm. A choice that should get people talking: on that day, at 9.10pm at the Stade de France, France will play their first test of the autumn tour against the South African world champions. In short, the internationals are likely to be missing.

On the Sunday evening of 21 September, the idea of a 24-hour postponement had circulated, an option provided for in the regulations. But the pitch, still largely flooded 24 hours after the postponement, quickly made that scenario unrealistic. The fact remains that, by choosing early November, the LNR has resigned itself to slotting the match into an already saturated calendar. The question of club-country clashes will inevitably come back to the table. And, much like every year, certainly not to say anything good about it…

This rescheduling will therefore have sporting consequences. At that time of year, many internationals will be away with their respective national teams. At La Rochelle, Grégory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent and several senior men could be absent. Toulon will face the same problem with the absence of key players such as Charles Ollivon, Baptiste Serin (potentially in the France squad because of the withdrawals of Antoine Dupont and Maxime Lucu) and Jean-Baptiste Gros.

A setback that could complicate the management of the season for Toulon and La Rochelle, already marked by a heavy density of matches.