Big win: Joe van Niekerk and Matt Giteau both scored
Toulon silenced their critics in consummate fashion on Saturday with a five-try 51-6 win over Top 14 rivals Montpellier at Stade Felix Mayol.
The bonus-point result cements RCT's place at the summit of the championship standings for at least another fortnight but raises further questions around last week's shock 41-0 loss to Bordeaux-Bègles, which was suffered with a very similar line-up.
Toulon raced to a 19-6 lead at half time thanks to tries from skipper Joe van Niekerk and second row Nick Kennedy.
Further tries from replacement back Benjamin Lapeyre, centre Matt Giteau and 18-year-old Ivan Roux ensured a maximum haul for the hosts while Jonny Wilkinson contributed 26 points with the boot.
For Montpellier it was a dramatic end to a four-match winning run, and they could lose their fourth spot later should Castres beat Biarritz.
Toulon had taken advantage early in the match of two Montpellier yellow cards, Yoann Audrin shortly followed by outstanding backrow forward Mamuka Gorgodze.
Already 6-0 up the home side ran in two tries, firstly through former Springbok van Niekerk, who rounded off a 60 metres move, then Kennedy, who finished off a break started by Giteau.
Way ahead at the break, Toulon did not ease up with the sixth of Wilkinson's penalties and then the bonus point try by Lapeyre in the 54th minute giving them an unassailable 39-6 advantage.
Giteau and then Roux added further tries to round off their impressive day's work.
Toulon head coach Bernard Laporte said his players had responded in the perfect manner.
"This victory belongs to the players," said the former France coach.
"I am proud of how they have reacted, they have put in a great performance. They have regained their respect."
His Montpellier counterpart Fabien Galthie, who captained France under Laporte, said that they had held out some hope going into the second-half.
"We said that we could still come back in the second-half, if we got off to a good start. But sadly we conceded points early on like we did in the first-half," said Galthie.
The scorers:
For Toulon:
Tries: van Niekerk, Kennedy, Lapeyre, Giteau, Roux
Cons: Wilkinson 4
Pens: Wilkinson 6
For Montpellier:
Pens: Bustos Moyano 2
Yellow cards: Audrin; Gorgodze
Toulon: 15 Vincent Martin, 14 Rudi Wulf, 13 Geoffroy Messina, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Nicolas Durand, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Joe van Niekerk, 5 Nick Kennedy, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Sebastien Bruno, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Jean Charles Orioli, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Steffon Armitage, 20 Ivan Roux, 21 Benjamin Lapeyre, 22 Sebastien Tillous Borde, 23 Levan Chilachava.
Montpellier: 15 Martin Bustos Moyano, 14 Yohann Artru, 13 Matthew Carraro, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Yoan Audrin, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 John Beattie, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Remy Martin, 5 Alikisio Fakate, 4 Hendrikus Hancke, 3 Barry Faamausili, 2 Charles Geli, 1 Yvan Watremez.
Replacements: 16 Erasmus Jansen van Vuuren, 17 Juan Figallo, 18 Mickael De Marco, 19 Alex Tulou, 20 Benoit Paillaugue, 21 Timoci Nagusa, 22 Benjamin Thiery, 23 Maximiliano Bustos.
Comments
NHsaints says...
simple, they didn't turn up last time, today they had a point to prove and wreaked absolute havoc like their line-up is capable of.
Posted 19:19 17th February 2013
sirtidychris says...
I bet the warm climate has to limit injuries as your muscles are less prone to tearing, the weather also means less attritional rugby with lots of scrums and boshing and more open running rugby. I think the fact wilko had so long out the game may have prolonged his career, with multiple long periods out giving his body a complete redt, focusing just on full body health
Posted 13:49 17th February 2013
Internationalxv says...
Seems to be an incredible number for foreigners in the Toulon side.
Posted 23:36 16th February 2013
damo says...
Worst officiating i have ever seen! !!!! Needs to be looked at 2 terrible yellow card decisions knock ons missed by Toulon i actually think the ref pushed toulon over the line twice :) abs disgrace betting patterns need be looked at the botha yellow went to montpellier? ??? Shocking makes me sick Toulon may be overrated i think! win nothing this year my prediction unless this clown of a ref is playing for them!!!!
Posted 22:57 16th February 2013
TVaddict says...
@heart_of_oak
I've always thought that it was because they're part of a bigger pack and are more protected (less targeted). Though maybe there's more too it, the sunshine and health lifestyle?
Posted 20:19 16th February 2013
heart_of_oak says...
Funny isn't it, but guys like Sheridan and JW seem to be playing the best rugby of their lives. When in the UK, these guys were prone to injury. I wonder if there is something we can learn from French rugby about how to keep players fit and available for key internationals.
Of course, if that were the case, then presumably the French would always be able to select from their best available players. But they suffer from injuries too. So I'm not sure what it is. All I know is that Wilko lost many years to injury and we, the viewing public, were deprived of seeing a great player in his prime. But in the last few years, when Wilko is older and - or so I'd have thought - more susceptible to injury, he seems less prone to missing games through injury.
Is this my imagination ? Is there an obvious reason - for example, are Toulon sort of protecting him by not playing him so much ? I don't think so. Looking at the Toulon web site, he plays in most games. Is it the French game ? Is the French game less physical ? Again, I don't think so. I've watched Toulose Biarritz and other games here in France and believe me, these games are every bit as brutal as anything on offer in the UK and Ireland.
Imagine Owen Farrell and Freddy Burns are both injured for large parts of their careers as was the case with Wilko and to a lesser extent with Sheridan. The loss to English rugby, the loss to the game, the loss to us and the loss to these individuals would be catastrophic. It'd be like not being able to see Wayne Rooney for a couple of years or not being able to see Sachin Tendulkar in his prime.
So if we can learn anything from other nations or leagues as to how to minimise injuries, then that must surely be a good thing and something well worth looking at.
Posted 19:17 16th February 2013
melkdave says...
Every team has its off days,remember players are human ,not robots,and its going to be hard to get yourself hyped for every match.Espically if on paper its a game you should win comfortable.Lesson learned ,and BOOM back with a vengance.
Posted 16:53 16th February 2013
TVaddict says...
Does 'raises further questions' mean match fixing?
Posted 16:11 16th February 2013