Wasted chances: Toulouse struggled in the line-outs
Toulouse skipper Thierry Dusautoir was a frustrated man after Sunday's agonising loss to Leicester at Welford Road.
The 9-5 defeat saw the four-time champions crash out of the tournament as they left 17 points by the wayside from the kicking tee and were refused a try by the TMO, who was unable to see clear evidence of the ball being grounded.
"There are regrets because we played a better match than Leicester," said Dusautoir after the game.
"We were generally on top overall. We just didn't take our chances.
"In seven years, it's the second time that we're not in the quarter-finals. We're a big club and we'll take lessons from this elimination.
"The conditions were really bad with wind and snow. We had a go nevertheless and created opportunities and we scored a try.
"Our elimination was not just down to today, if we had always played like that we would have easily finished first.
"We lost a lot of balls at the line-outs that we could have used. We really need to be better there."
Iconic Toulouse coach Guy Novès was stoic in defeat.
"Destiny decided Stade Toulousain wouldn't go into the quarter-finals this year," said Novès.
"Everyone saw that we left nearly 25 points by the wayside. 17 points from the boot with penalties that were kickable. It's the first time that I saw us fail that badly in that sector.
"We almost have to laugh at ourselves.
"We saw a real Toulouse team that had the opportunity to score 30 points but due to lack of finishing ended up only scoring 5. "
Comments
Rosbif says...
For anyone who might be interested, there is a 4-page mini section on Toulouse with analysis, interviews with players, coaches etc in this week's Midi Olympique.
Posted 19:40 24th January 2013
lawynd says...
@Saint_Andre91 - the truth hurts so you attempt to belittle me and ignore the points? Oh dear. Clancy didn't once call Toulouse for flopping over the ball when Cole and Salvi got their hands on it at the breakdown, only once called a ball not thrown straight at the lineout after around half a dozen incidents, didn't check the clear knock-on for Toulouse's try and didn't send a player off for taking Parling out in the lineout. He still got some scrum decisions wrong because he took at least three or four to cotton on to Johnston's usual trick of binding on the arm and pulling down to force his opponent inwards; the only reason the penalties went in our favour in that facet afterwards is because he can't scrum legally.
Posted 10:01 24th January 2013
Saint_Andre91 says...
@lawynd: to say Toulouse had the benefit of the worst referee in the NH on their side (the same referee who single-handedly nnihilated the full Toulouse scrum) is a testimony of your bias. I won't even bother to elaborate.
@ArmchairGeneral: understand your logic but find it very limitative. Game report: team A won 24-15, the rest is history... this will put a lot of sports writers out of work :)
Posted 21:10 23rd January 2013
lawynd says...
Are you off your medication, pantreac? You've already posted that rubbish before; it doesn't make it any more true a second time.
Posted 13:02 22nd January 2013
pantreac says...
As the photograph above shows Leicester were illegal in almost every line-out with Deacon interfering with the jumper. The refs appear to allow the home side to not only 'spoil' opposing teams line-out throws but never insist on the ball being thrown in down the middle . The touch judge never appears to signal a crooked (not straight) throw or call the refs attention to the thrower-in being over the line! Why?
In both the Leicester and Munster matches yesterday the officials allowed both of the home teams to illegally contest the line-outs!
When I played, some time ago the refs used to exercise control over the line-out and scrums. The not straight put ins in the scrum are a disgrace!
Posted 12:33 22nd January 2013
IronManI441 says...
Firstly let me say I am huge Dusautoir fan. However I think his statement was made in frustration and he will regret it. The team that wins is the better team. End of.
I think TD's comments become clearer when he says that "generally" they were better except they didn't take their chances.
I also think the headline of the article was aimed at getting a reaction. If they said "TD believes Toulouse were generally better" it would get less clicks. Possible PlanetRugby doing a diservice to a great rugby icon.
Posted 10:58 22nd January 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
@SaintAndre: its difficult because if you ignore the score line it becomes ridiculously subjective as to who was the better team. You'd need a jury for each game. We have to live by the saying "the best team won" or we undermine the value of the game we love. Toulouse looked like a team that could have won on a different day but all factors considered could not win that game and were therefore 2nd best. When I say "could not" I mean retrospectively with the game consigned to history and its not a comment on their ability. Plainly the could beat anyone in a game not played yet.
Posted 09:08 22nd January 2013
HG_Paris says...
100% Toulouse! Ungracious in victory & ungracious in defeat. With a club budget of in excess of 24m EUR it is a bit of scandal (that is 5 times the salary cap of the Welsh regions). Novès never admits that they somtimes get beaten by the better side on the day. No wonder they are the team that eveyone loves to hate this side of the channel!
Posted 08:23 22nd January 2013
KiwiRooster says...
Tolofua is still a bit wet behind the ears. It is great if he makes the blue shirt of France but I still rate Guirado higher for now. Tolofua is young so he tends to try too hard sometimes which often plays against him. No doubt he will learn from his mistakes, but I see him as the third hooker for France.
The Perpignan hooker is better in the running, better at off-loading, better in the lineouts and probably just as good at hooking and scrummaging. Tolofua should become a fantastic hooker if he keeps working hard but the learning curve is steep.
In my opinion Guirado should come second only to Swarzewski when the Parisian is at his best (which he has been since William Servat retirement). Guirado is the archetype of a modern hooker, strong runner of the ball and a better guarantee to retain the ball overall. In all his selections for France, I cannot remember him putting a foot wrong, it would be a waste to ignore him.
The funny thing about Toulouse is that they picked Botha who never stroke me as a great hooker, whereas Stade Français picked Aled de Malmanche which I have always thought was a great hooker for the Chiefs in Super 14. Toulouse has a sort of "partnership" or exchange with the Chiefs, so how come they never showed any interest for De Malmanche in place of Botha? Very odd choice there.
Posted 00:23 22nd January 2013
KiwiRooster says...
Doussain-Beauxis is not a great pair of half backs. Beauxis is useful for the long range kicking but pretty much hopeless for everything else. He reached his very best in 2007 but never managed to keep it up. McAllister is brilliant at both 10 and 12 but he will certainly wear down faster than any one else as the season goes.
Doussain provided a few interesting high balls, but pretty much failed to attack the line. He is not a decisive 9 like Dupuy or Ellissalde were. Machenaud and Paillaugue have the grunt and wit to try things, I am not convinced Doussain has it in him. He must learn to be more opportunistic in a sense. Showing nerve is not necessarily something you learn though.
Posted 00:06 22nd January 2013
KiwiRooster says...
Toulouse showed more intentions than Leicester, I think that's why Dussautoir tried to say.
As per the goal kicking there is no doubt Leicester took the upper hand early on.
For Toulouse the frustration should come from the fact that they were unable (easier said than done given the weather conditions) to switch from an ambitious gameplay full of passing and running, to a more pragmatic approach.
Racing Metro lost the week before against Sarracens the exact same way.
At the very end of the Leicester-Toulouse game, Botha picked the worst option of all and throwed the ball to the dogs. He may have been better advised to play it at close range, create a maul and go from there. That's the way Munster won in 2005 and 2007 with simple but effective manoeuvres. Toulouse has yet to learn when it is time to bear down on the opposition.
Posted 23:55 21st January 2013
lawynd says...
@Saint_Andre91 - I said Leicester played poorly on the match report article, I'm not going to repeat the same point in several different places just for your benefit. But at the same time, Toulouse played worse AND had the benefit of the worst referee in the northern hemisphere on their side. Leicester might not have been the worthy winners everyone wished for but particularly after the ungraciousness of the Toulouse players, both on the field and in this article (at least on the face of it - I'm willing to take Rosbif's interpretation/explanation at face value), Toulouse are definitely worthy losers.
Posted 22:56 21st January 2013
gauca says...
Losing by 4pts in Leicester, to Leicester is no embarrassment.
Losing because we can't convert pressure/opposition discipline into points is our own fault.
Leicester won because they played with more savvy than us in the elements and we couldn't convert. Simple
We are knocked out because we left bonus points begging in previous games, this should have been a dead rubber but we made a mountain out of this pool by being lazy, ill disciplined and at times clueless.
Toulouse have the backs, the forwards, but has no continuity or direction between the two, power will only take you so far. We need to reconsider our 1/2's because we seem to have 10s who kick unreliably at goal and 9s who just look for the contact first instead of getting the ball out into the centres. Very limited in the 1/2's IMO, any recruitment should be geared towards the 9 first and 10 second before all else or let the academy boys get game time now. Then I think we can turn the corner.
Bezy seems a good prospect but then so did his older brother but he was shipped off to SF(I believe) to accommodate Doussain/Burgess/McCalister/Beauxis of whom I think 2years in represent a failed experiment.
For Leicester good luck in the QF.
Posted 20:44 21st January 2013
Saint_Andre91 says...
@TVaddict, lawynd and others: why is it so difficuly to admit Leicester were not worhty winners on Sunday? Had Toulouse won playing poorly, I'd have acknowledged their opponent worth with no condescendence nor bitter feelings since my team would have advanced to the QF anyway. You are right, ST's lineouts were horrendous. Their scrummaging had to be poor since Mr. Clancy repeatedly penalized them came scrum time. Yet, they would have won, and deservedly so, with a half-competent U17 goal-kicker, and that's something you can't deny.
Posted 20:42 21st January 2013
deprop says...
Whatever about the result, the referee was appalling.
Posted 20:27 21st January 2013
deprop says...
Whatever about the result, the referee was appalling.
Posted 20:27 21st January 2013
pierredelot1 says...
Can't say I saw the match but it was always going to be close. Although I support Toulouse my regret is that they lost to a team like Leicester who to me play with a lack of ambition. As for Census, having watched him closely at home in toulouse i have to say a good technical prop always has a chance against him as he likes to bind on the arm and try to drive in and down. But as long as referees of a high International standard such as Mr Clancy are refereeing, you'll be bloody lucky to get such decisions. I could swear he goes to bed praying that there will be no real niggle at scrum time as he hasn't got a clue what is going on and prefers to abstain as much as possible. Mind you he is equally unfair to both sides. Leicester won't get much further, they have the players but their coaching staff don't have the wit and imagination to take them to the top. Still stuck in 1990s Rugby, noone has told Cockers life moves on. As for Beauxis well, never did such young talent fall to such moderate standards.
Posted 17:02 21st January 2013
Headhunter99 says...
Crecy, Agincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo and now Leicester.... the list goes on but the truth in life and sport is the side with the most points is the best side.
That said I will still be cheering for Toulon when they meet Leicester.
Posted 16:25 21st January 2013
lawynd says...
As for the scrummaging, it was patently obvious that Johnston was, as he does in almost every game, binding on Ayerza's arm, preventing Ayerza getting a proper bind himself and being turned in. Johnston should realistically have been cooling his heels on the sidelines for 10 minutes, but Clancy and his officiguessing meant that was never going to happen.
Posted 15:25 21st January 2013
lawynd says...
@lacroix - four lineouts were right in front of us, one was directly on the opposite side of the pitch. Regardless of whether we were perfectly positioned (you rarely are on TV due to the position of the cameras, by the by), if the jumper is taking the ball square in his chest then either of two things have happened:
1. The lineout jumpers have closed the gap and are jumping in the wrong place, a free kick, or;
2. The throw is crooked and not down the zone between the two teams, resulting in a scrum or lineout to the defending team.
Posted 15:24 21st January 2013