Despite the absence of Antoine Dupont, injured in his knee during the Six Nations, Toulouse continue to shine. After the narrow win over Toulon (21-18) in the Champions Cup quarter-final, Julien Marchand has revealed how the Red and Blacks have adapted collectively, in comments reported by La Dépêche.

“You cannot play down the fact that Antoine brings an enormous amount to the team. He has already been injured for more than a month. We switched things around too, and there are lads like Paul (Graou) who are taking on that new role very well”, explains the international hooker.

The Toulouse captain underlines the importance of shared leadership: “We big lads take on board what Paul tells us, we listen. He is a player who also has a lot of experience because he has been there, he has held the fort.”

“In every line there are leaders, whether that is Tom at the back, Juanchi (Mallia), Romain (Ntamack) or Barras’ (Pierre-Louis Barassi), who is exceptional in defence”, Marchand goes on.

While Dupont remains in the team’s thoughts, Toulouse are pushing on with determination towards the semi-finals thanks to Thomas Ramos’ winning penalty in the closing moments against RCT.