End of an era?

They sit atop the French championship and have qualified for yet another Heineken Cup quarter-final but there’s something not quite right at Toulouse this season, writes Ian Moriarty

IT’S Saturday afternoon in Toulouse’s Place Saint-Etienne, like any other day in the southern French city. The second-hand book market that graces this triangular ‘square’ in front of the city’s ancient St Etienne cathedral has finished, and the lunch-goers at the adjacent restaurant have long since departed.

Nearby, the terrace of La Sylene café bustles with those enjoying a drink in the afternoon sunshine. Within minutes, however, the feel-good atmosphere disappears. Shoulders are shrugged, heads shook and a gaggle of middle-aged men start gesticulating wildly. The final score has just filtered through from Stade Colombes in Paris — Toulouse have lost 43-21 to Racing Metro.