Scotland star scores TWICE on debut as Toulouse hammer young Cardiff outfit

Scotland star Blair Kinghorn marked his Toulouse debut with a brace of tries as the Top 14 outfit hammered a young Cardiff side 52-7 in their first Champions Cup game of the 2023/24 season.

Kinghorn, who made the mid-season switch to Toulouse from Edinburgh, opened his account for his new employers in the 26th minute and rounded off the victory with a second five-pointer with time up on the clock.

Matthis Lebel, Richie Arnold, Kinghorn and Anthony Jelonch all scored in the first half to give Toulouse a 31-7 half-time lead, with Thomas Ramos adding three conversions and a penalty. Arthur Retiere, Alban Placines and Kinghorn scored further tries to bloat out the scoreline, with Ramos adding another conversion and Baptiste Germain slotting the latter two conversions.

🔥 A try on debut for Blair Kinghorn! #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/WINjStjW0k

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) December 9, 2023

For Cardiff, MacKenzie Martin scored the side’s only try in the 24th minute of the Champions Cup loss, which Tinus de Beer converted.

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France full-back Thomas Ramos starred in the win for Toulouse, starting at fly-half for his club, with Romain Ntamack only expected to return from injury next year. Ramos scored 13 points from the tee, regularly exploited gaps in Cardiff’s defence, and was duly named man of the match.

Toulouse were clear favourites heading to the clash as Cardiff included several youngsters in their matchday squad, notably 19-year-old flanker Lucas de la Rua, who made his debut.

The French side delivered on their favourites tag, with winger Lebel diving over in the corner after collecting an Antoine Dupont pass behind him just five minutes into the clash.

Cardiff couldn’t contain the potent Toulouse attack as Ramos tore through the defence and found Lebel in support; the winger did well to stay in play just long enough to get his pass away to Wallabies lock Richie Arnold, who grabbed his side’s second score. Ramos added the conversions on both tries and converted a penalty in the 20th minute to extend Toulouse’s lead to 17-0.

Cardiff needed a response, and they got one when number eight Martin was helped over the line from close range. De Beer’s conversion would, however, be the Welsh outfit’s final contribution to the scoreboard.

Minutes after Cardiff’s score, Toulouse struck back as Kinghorn rounded off a stellar counterattack launched by Ramos. The fly-half sped past two defenders and raced into space, where he linked up with the ever-present Dupont. The scrum-half drew in De Beer before sending Kinghorn over for his first try.

While Cardiff had some promising moments on the attack, they could not find the finishing touches, and with Toulouse applying the pressure inside their 22, centre Uilisi Halaholo went off his feet to try and turn the ball over and was duly yellow-carded.

From the resulting penalty, Toulouse executed a neat tap-and-go set move, which saw flanker Jelonch charge over the line untouched as the French side led 38-7 at the break.

Six minutes into the second half, Toulouse had their fifth try as Retiere tore through the Cardiff defence, which had started the second period well. Ramos’ conversion stretched the lead to 38-7.

The French side threatened to rack up the tries, but Cardiff managed to hold on in defence. They managed to shut out Toulouse until Placines finally grabbed Toulouse’s sixth try.

With time up on the clock, Toulouse went in search of one final score, and they got it as Kinghorn dived over in the corner for his second try of the game. It capped off a stunning first week in Toulouse, having only arrived at the club recently. Replacement fly-half Germain converted the last two scores as Toulouse notched up their half-century.

Toulouse head to London next week, where they will tackle Harlequins, while Cardiff returns home, where they will host Premiership outfit Bath, who claimed an impressive 37-14 win over Ulster.

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