Emmanuel Meafou: 'We’re expected not just to win but win convincingly, that’s always the bar'

Meafou experienced those two last-four losses to their Irish rivals at first hand and shared in the misery of failing to extend their record haul of five Champions Cup titles.

Wed, 22 May, 2024 - 06:32

Simon Lewis

After two humbling semi-final defeats to Leinster in successive seasons, Emmanuel Meafou is confident the third Champions Cup encounter will be the charm for Toulouse in this Saturday’s final showdown at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Australian-reared lock whose five years since joining the Toulouse academy in 2019 have developed the 25-year-old into a fledgling France international second row, is as steeped in the culture of the French giants and their affinity with European rugby’s premier club competition as anyone born in the Pink City. Meafou experienced those two last-four losses to their Irish rivals at first hand and shared in the misery of failing to extend their record haul of five Champions Cup titles, which is why he sure Toulouse can right the wrongs of those Aviva Stadium reverses, when Leinster thumped his side 40-17 in May 2022 and 41-22 11 months later.

“Reviewing our games now, we’ve definitely sat down and said we really haven’t had a good game against Leinster,” Meafou said on Tuesday. “But saying that, Leinster are definitely a quality team, and we just weren’t ready for that.

“So it’s a mixture of things, but inexperience, ill-discipline, and last year we played with two yellow cards and it’s hard to win a final when you’re down a player.

“So just a bunch of stuff, and a quality Leinster team. But I think we’ve grown as a team, and this team there’s a lot of players who have played those two past games, and we’re definitely not the same players or the same team.

“But we like our chances this time and we’re going to give it our best on Saturday.”

Meafou’s belief in Toulouse’s readiness to atone for past defeats is in sync with the culture established within the club and the huge levels of expectation that are generated by it, as he explained.

“When you come here everyone wants to win, but it’s definitely an expectation. They historically are successful and they want to keep it that way.

“When there’s a loss, or even if there’s a bad performance in a good result, we’re expected not just to win but win convincingly, that’s always the bar, and we set it high.

“So we don’t aim it for anything lower than a win and a good win, so we know what we’re capable of, and the guys, we aim high.

“And as for this weekend, even though our success rate against Leinster hasn’t been good, we’re a different team from three years ago, four years ago, and we just keep getting better.

“So we like our chances.”

The mindset is also evident through Toulouse’s style of play, spearheaded by head coach Ugo Mola, implemented by their magician of captain and scrum-half Antoine Dupont and showcased throughout the squad.

Meafou said being at the club has transformed him as a second-row forward.

“Massively, for me, I was raised in Australia, so living and growing up there, when you think of French rugby you just think ‘pick and go, scrums, nitty gritty stuff’. But when I came here, I found out it’s nothing like that.

“Of course they like to enjoy that part of the game, but here the DNA of the game and Toulouse in general, they want to play, and they want to keep the ball alive. And it’s really encouraged from a young age, from the boys in the Under-12s all the way up to the pros.

“They are encouraged to play that brand of rugby, and when it sticks it sticks, and that’s something that we train on, and it’s been working well for us. It’s not only this team this year, it’s definitely a historic brand of this club, and they’re very successful. So if it’s working, why change it?”