Classy Toulouse score seven tries as they dismantle Harlequins away from home

Planet Rugby
Thomas Ramos with ball in hand for Toulouse.

Thomas Ramos with ball in hand for Toulouse.

Toulouse turned on their attacking flair with a stunning 19-47 win over Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop in the Champions Cup on Sunday.

Tries from Andre Esterhuizen and Irne Herbst (2) were not enough for Harlequins against their French opponents, who were inspired by Antoine Dupont and Thomas Ramos on the day.

For the visitors, Pierre Louis Barassi led the way with a brace of tries whilst Dmitri Delibes, Peato Mauvaka, Matthis Lebel, Thomas Ramos and Rodrigue Neti also crossed the whitewash. Ramos was also on target with the boot as he added six conversions to stretch the scoreline out of the hosts’ reach.

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The match was stopped for 10 minutes to allow second-row Dino Lamb to receive medical attention after he had been knocked out by a clash of heads with Pita Ahki and he was eventually carried from the pitch on a stretcher.

His replacement Herbst scored a try in each half, accompanying Esterhuizen’s earlier touch down, but Quins needed to be at their best to topple the five-time European champions and they were several rungs below that level.

Their frustration in a match that lasted over two hours was summed up by the misfiring Marcus Smith and the England playmaker signposted his struggle to come early by kicking dead an early penalty intended for a short-range line-out.

The error count from both sides was already racking up and it was off scraps that Toulouse engineered the opening try, Ahki using his footwork and a dummy to send centre partner Barassi over under the posts.

Harlequins replied when Esterhuizen bulldozed through a non-existent defence but Toulouse’s next attack was razor sharp, presenting Delibes with a simple run-in.

Lamb was carried from the pitch on a stretcher following a tackle by Ahki that resulted in a yellow card for the Tonga midfielder.

The sheer volume of mistakes continued to affect both sides and a lapse in the home defence almost invited Delibes for a second try but the wing was then alive to a well-worked chance down the right that was finished by hooker Mauvaka.

Quins’ erratic play took another turn as, having allowed Mauvaka to break through with little resistance, they bulldozed into the 22 with Alex Dombrandt sending Herbst over.

An exchange of tries between Lebel and Herbst, both scored off line-outs, keep the contest open during the third quarter but in the 51st minute Toulouse slammed the door shut with a sublime score.

Full-back Blair Kinghorn launched the counter attack off Esterhuizen’s kick from just outside the 22 and, once Dupont arrived to inject some magic, the path was clear for an accelerating Barassi to sprint over.

Even with their history of conjuring extraordinary fightbacks it looked bleak for Quins and the out-of-sorts Smith continued to swim against the tide when he was on the receiving end of a borderline tackle by Emmanuel Meafou.

Next over was replacement prop Neti and, seeing Quins had thrown in the towel, Ramos added a seventh that showcased Toulouse’s brilliance in attack.

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard

Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dimitri Delibes, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 David Ainuʻu, 19 Piula Fa’asalele, 20 Alban Placines, 21 Baptiste Germain, 22 Paul Costes, 23 Santiago Chocobares

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Joy Neville (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

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Champions Cup