Once again he had a predominant role. On an afternoon in which she had less prominence during the 80 minutes, Juan Cruz Mallía scored a key try for Toulouse to reach the Champions Cup final, the most important Cup in Europe, which brings together the best clubs from the old continent and South Africa. At 67 minutes, He supported the flag and unleashed the euphoria of the French public, who dreams of conquering his sixth European star; the 38-26 victory against Harlequins, In a back-and-forth match, it put him in his seventh final. On May 25 they will face the Irish Leinster at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Mallía had just scored two tries in the quarterfinals and was once again decisive. Harlequins had reacted and reduced the difference from 31-12 to 31-26, and with 13 minutes remaining the ball came to him, after a good sequence of passes, and he had the skill, intelligence and strength to close, break two tackles and define. It was a knock-out blow for the English team, which could not recover in the final stretch. Santiago Chocobares from Rufino entered the winner in the last 11 minutes and was firm in defense.
Mallía’s try
The match at the Toulouse City Stadium was one of the best of the tournament. Intense, vibrant, back and forth. Quick transitions led by teams that took risks at all times. In that blow by blow, Toulouse hit harder in the first half and supported five tries, through Matthis Lebel, Peato Mauvaka, Thibaud Flamente and two from Antoine Dupont, the figure who led each attack of his team. Harlequins added through Marcus Smith, their driver, and Will Evans. Those from London did not give in to the disadvantage and got into the game in the second stage with an extraordinary pirouette by Cada Murley and a definition by Tryrone Green. Jack Walker’s warning and Mallía’s try sealed the semi-final.
The 27-year-old has eight tries this season. After the injury he suffered in the match for third place in the World Cup between the Pumas and England, he did not play for two months, but he quickly made a place for himself again. He returned at fullback, moved on to the wing and covered the flyhalf position while Romain Ntamack was sidelined and Thomas Ramos involved with the Six Nations. Coach Ugo Mola trusts him and is always present in the most important matches.
Antoine Dupont’s celebration
The rival of the final will be Leinster, the team that has a large part of the 6 Nations champion Ireland team.. Almost a mirror of the team, both in performers and in playing style. In addition, this season they added Jacques Nienaber, head coach of the world champion Springboks, to the coaching staff. Toulouse, with five, is the most winning club in the tournament and is followed by Leinster, with four. Coincidentally, they will meet for the first time in a final.
The recent record smiles on the Irish team, which won with authority in the last confrontations. 29-13 in the 2019 group stage, 30-12 in the semifinals of that same year, 40-17 in the 2022 semifinal and 41-22 in the 2023 semifinal. Toulouse will seek to even out the physical battle and exploit their virtues in attack with Antoine Dupont. who will have a special challenge: on May 25 he will play in the European final and six days later he will change disciplines to represent France in the final sevens series in Madrid.
Juan Cruz Mallía gave Toulouse its last European title, in 2021, with a try at Twickenham. In 20 days he will return to London, but to the Tottenham stadium. His team dreams of the sixth.