Eight-try Toulouse send John Plumtree packing in his final match in charge of struggling Sharks
Toulouse's Antoine Dupont takes to the pitch as a second-half sub in what was, inset, John Plumtree's last match as Sharks director of rugby.
Toulouse got their latest Investec Champions Cup campaign off to an anticipated big home win, scoring eight tries in their comfortable 56-19 victory over the struggling Sharks.
The last time the South African franchise were in France, they were beaten 66-12 at Bordeaux in January the week after they had hosted Toulouse in Durban and were beaten 20-8.
Currently wounded by a deflating 14th-place start to the United Rugby Championship that featured just one win in six, any notions that John Plumtree’s decision to step away as director of rugby following this match could somehow lead to a rapid improvement in the Sharks were quickly dispelled by the rampant start that the Top 14 leaders made.
Just 23 minutes were needed for the hosts to secure the four-try bonus point following a flashy start that exposed the vulnerabilities the South Africans had already shown this season.
Romain Ntamack illness
Not even the pre-match withdrawal of Romain Ntamack due to illness could unsettle Toulouse. They simply switched Blair Kinghorn to full-back and moved Thomas Ramos to out-half, with Dimitri Delibes coming in on the wing.
Less than three minutes in, the Ramos at 10 effect was felt as it was his diagonal kick following some good work from midfielder Kalvin Gourgues that got Ange Capuozzo in at the corner.
A mini-rally followed from the Sharks, but there was no scoreboard respite. Come the 14th minute, they were pinned back in their 22 after Ramos booted a penalty kick to touch. From the ensuing maul, the outcome was predictable as hooker Julien Marchand marched over on the back of his momentum-driving pack.
The breakdown was now an issue for the Sharks, and so too were individual errors. A mistake from Makazole Mapimpi handed Toulouse the invitation to lay siege in the 22, pressure that culminated in a second try for Marchand.
With Paul Graou, the home team scrum-half, keeping the tempo fast, Sharks were soon congregated behind their posts again after further encouragement from centre Gourgues ended with him crossing the whitewash.
— Stade Toulousain (@StadeToulousain) December 7, 2025
It had been a relentless onslaught, but the bagging of the four-try bonus point curiously acted as a reprieve for the Sharks as they quickly took advantage of a lapse in Toulouse’s concentration. Ross Braude was the creator, squeezing through a gap before feeding skipper Nick Hatton, who brushed aside Capuozzo to score.
Little else of note happened between then and the break, leaving Toulouse 28-5 up at the interval, but there was a sense that there was unfinished business for Ugo Mola’s side to attend to in the second half. That business would quickly involve Antoine Dupont, but initially not in the way envisaged.
Fresh from his comeback match in the league last weekend after a lay-off since March with an ACL injury, the scrum-half was sent into the fray on 44 minutes but he was soon standing behind his posts with his teammates as Sharks pounced four minutes later for a converted try from Braude.
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With the score now 28-12 and the Sharks having grabbed the last two tries, was a heroic comeback on the cards from the understrength visitors? Plumtree’s charges kept plugging away and the margin remained only 16 points with over an hour played.
Toulouse, though, managed to earn a penalty to get them deep into the opposition 22 and the move conjured up resulted in sub hooker Guillaume Cramont giving the pass for Capuozzo to score on 63 minutes and end the home team’s 40-minute spell without a score.
Ramos converted, and he was soon successful off the tee for the sixth time to add the extras to the 67th-minute maul try finished by another replacement Mathis Castro-Ferreira. That made it 42-12 and there was more to come as Capuozzo raced onto his own kick to complete his try hat-trick.
A Sharks consolation followed, Le-Roux Malan grabbing a converted try, but Toulouse had the last say with Teddy Thomas adding his team’s eighth converted try.
The teams
Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Teddy Thomas, 12 Kalvin Gourgues, 11 Dimitri Delibes, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Paul Graou, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Leo Banos, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Joel Merkler, 2 Julien Marchand (c), 1 Rodrigue Neti. Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 David Ainu’u, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Mathis Castro-Ferreira, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Paul Costes, 23 Nelson Epee
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Le-Roux Malan, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Nick Hatton (c), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Matt Romao, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Mawande Mdanda, 2 Eddie Swart, 1 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Simphiwe Ngobese, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Jannes Potgieter, 20 Tino Mavesere, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Phiko Sobahle
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (Eng), Simon Harding (Eng)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)
