Toulon v Toulouse: Five takeaways as ‘consummate’ England forward gives Lions reminder in ‘absolute classic of attrition’
Toulouse playmaker Thomas Ramos and Toulon lock David Ribbans.
Following a dramatic 21-18 victory for Toulouse over Toulon, here are our five takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final at the Stade Mayol on Sunday.
The top line
A game that started slowly, and at times failed to live up to its expectation of fast flowing rugby, unfolded to an absolute classic of attrition, close quarter power and forward domination as Thomas Ramos kicked Toulouse to a Champions Cup semi-final appointment against UBB in May in the dying moment of the match.
It was a game of the finest margins, played in filthy conditions but one that provided passion and bristling aggression in spades. In such an encounter it was always going to boil down to one error and RCT’s Test wing, Gabin Villiere was the man to blink first, as he found himself under a horrible spiralling box-kick from replacement scrum-half Naoto Saito.
As Toulouse’s back-row clattered over him, Toulon were penalised for going off their feet. Up stepped Thomas Ramos, a man who’d had an average day off the tee, to kick for glory, taking Toulouse to yet another Investec Champions Cup semi-final.
Poor Villiere. With the game looking as if it was heading for extra time, the play leading up to the penalty incident saw immense pressure on Serin from the Toulouse forwards, forcing Serin to slice for touch, and perhaps had that exit gone better, Villiere might not have been placed in the position he was. But given Toulouse scored two tries to nil, perhaps justice was done and the right team game out on top.
Yellow card turning point
As Toulouse flew out for a much better second half performance here’s little doubt that Baptiste Serin’s yellow card for an accidental head clash really allowed the visitors back into the game. It was, by modern standards, pretty innocuous and certainly without malice, but referee Matthew Carley allowed no wriggle room in any call in this game and sent Serin packing to the bin.
The incident took place on the 42-minute mark, and from the ensuing penalty, Jack Willis made ground off the tap, coming from behind the initial carry at short range pace. He hit precisely the hole where Serin would ordinarily defend, one where a scrum-half loops around in ‘the boot’ and Serin’s absence left a crucial defensive stress point for Willis and Toulouse to exploit.
For the first half, RCT had managed to maintain incredible width using a ‘cascading numbers’ defence to prevent Toulouse attacking the edge, but one man down makes it so hard to maintain that width and it was Pita Akhi that profited as again he exploited the corner of the Toulon defence, managed to get around Gael Drean on the outside, and, without Serin sweeping as the last line of scramble cover, the big Tongan centre had a trot in to the line.
In a match of such close margins, those 10 minutes saw Toulouse grab a 10-point return from the sin-bin period, demonstrating once again the importance of keeping 15 on the pitch in knockout rugby.
Forward battle
Led by an immense display by Emmanuel Meafou, ably supported by the electric Alexandre Roumat at number eight and yet another tireless 80 minute shift from François Cros on the flank, Toulouse just seemed to have an edge in power for the full 80 minutes. Meafou’s carries and ruck presence gave Toulouse a focal point in a game of close quarter arm wrestling and the big lock was rightly named as player of the match.
But credit must also go to the superb performances of the Toulon pack who really stood up against their deadly rivals. Esteban Abadie had a fantastic first half, in great form with ball in hand, and alongside him, RCT skipper David Ribbans delivered yet another consummate display of his lineout art, reminding all that he’s available for the Lions should Andy Farrell come calling.
The final difference was the impact of the benches. For Toulouse, Anthony Jelonch came on and gave a fantastic display of chugging 4×4 diesel power, hammering carries and tackles in conditions particularly suited to his style. With Peato Mauvaka also shining, and in the backs, Saito playing a real cameo at nine, Toulouse demonstrated that depth is a key quality in EPCR rugby, a quality that they possess throughout.
Game in numbers
Toulouse’s possession and territory stats were quite remarkable. 64% ball time and 69% territory were not reflected by the scoreline and the champions will be heartbroken at their lack of efficiency with ball in hand.
Their handling stats were far superior too – 162 passes played 80 and 11 offloads to six tell a story of a side that had a lot of ball but struggled to finish their moves, very unlike Toulouse.
But on the other side of the ball, the visitors won the breakdown battle convincingly. Ten turnovers played six, with Toulouse recording a massive 96% ruck success rate, and to add insult to injury, they also stole two key lineouts, both through Cros, as he poached a couple of crucial throws in his own half.
Whilst Melvyn Jaminet delivered a perfect performance from the tee, three of his six scores came from within his own half, something that demonstrated the territorial advantage that Toulouse had, and in truth, RCT never looked like really threatening the Toulouse line in the way that their opponents did to theirs.
UBB away
Toulouse will meet Bordeaux in the semi-finals as one side is certain to fly the French flag in the final in Cardiff in June.
Ugo Mola will be doing everything in his power to try and get injured stars back fit and firing, none more so than Ange Capuozzo, whose electric counterattacking pace was sorely missed by La Ville Rose in this match.
But after watching Munster’s pack give UBB the fright of their life yesterday, as the Atlantic Coast team went into cruise control after a great start, makes you wonder if Bordeaux have the heavy artillery to beat the reigning champions in a knockout situation.
Depth will be a key factor and it’s true to say that Toulouse can unload a Test set of forwards off the bench, something that was key in this match, and given the defensive shift of the back-row and centres against Toulon, you’d also question if UBB will have quite the amount of space and obvious seams to attack that Munster offered to them.
However, it’ll be a fixture to get lovers of French club rugby salivating and it’s quite right that these two outstanding teams are the last two Top 14 sides standing as they go toe-to-toe to grab their place in the 2025 Investec Champions Cup final.
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