Toulon 32 Exeter Chiefs 20 match report: Toulon show lively Chiefs who’s boss

A Jonny Wilkinson try seals it for the French side against plucky Exeter

David Smith scores for Toulon in their Heineken Cup win over Exeter (GETTY IMAGES)

The joyous scene that erupted in this port town’s beguiling theatre of rugby when Jonny Wilkinson scored the match-settling try for Toulon was almost incidental to the Heineken Cup, even though it set the holders of the trophy up for a tasty battle over quarter-final qualification with the Cardiff Blues in Nice next month.

As the feted former England fly-half sidestepped past the Exeter flanker Don Armand to the posts, thousands of copies of the local Var-Matin newspaper were tossed in the air, having been placed on each spectator’s seat in readiness for just such a moment.

“We want Jonny,” sang the throng, mindful of the Toulon owner-chairman Mourad Boudjellal’s comments yesterday morning that the 34-year-old Wilkinson might yet have another year in him, if his body holds up. An alternative scenario is retirement next summer and the signing of Leigh Halfpenny and Toby Flood to replace him.

For Exeter, who by contrast are just getting used to the delights of European competition, this was a brave and in one way bitterly controversial defeat. “To give this competition the credit it deserves we will continue to go flat out,” said Rob Baxter, the Exeter coach, although it would take some unlikely results to keep his side involved.

There was enough ebb and flow – including a forward-pass first-half try to Toulon’s David Smith that had Baxter and everyone else from the south of the France to the Exe estuary utterly baffled – to keep the flamboyant Boudjellal dancing in his touchline vantage point. The millionaire comic-book publisher confirmed he is in talks to bring Wales’s Halfpenny here, while strong rumours surround a move for Flood of England, but the interest in the Wales captain Sam Warburton has cooled. “We will have to replace two players in one [if Wilkinson retires in June],” said Boudjellal, “a playmaker and a kicker with a 90 per cent success rate like Jonny has.”

Bernard Laporte, the Toulon head coach, said Flood’s transfer from Leicester might hinge on Wilkinson’s decision, due to a limit on foreign players. Wilkinson himself made a nod towards this quota issue, saying: “I’m contemplating the decision every day, every match, every week. I’m keeping it very simple and it’s not just about me, it’s about other people as well and the best interests of this club.”

Laporte smiled: “We want Jonny to play forever; he is unique. If he does stop then Halfpenny, who has not signed yet I don’t think, can take the kicks. We speak about Toby, but there are rules in France and we can’t take everyone. We have to see whether Jonny goes or not.”

Toulon’s former England full-back Delon Armitage has agreed a two-year contract extension, but his dual qualification does not count towards the 16 foreigners Toulon are permitted.

Smith’s second try of the match in the 37th minute was awarded when the Television Match Official Dermot Moloney and referee John Lacey somehow approved the pass the wing received from Matt Giteau, who started at fly-half with Wilkinson on the bench. The interpretation that the ball can fly forwards as long as the passer’s hands point backwards is questionable. For the ball to travel ahead of both Giteau and Smith, who shrugged off Jack Nowell and Luke Arscott to score, appeared plain ludicrous.

“The ball went three metres forwards but it seems you’re more likely to see that kind of try awarded when the TMO looks at it than if it is left to the referee and touch judge,” said Baxter. “It’s a decision for the governing bodies. The reality was we had opportunities to score two tries earlier in the game and should have taken them.”

When Giteau converted that try it moved Toulon 12-7 ahead – Smith’s opener had been overturned by a try from Armand created by Arscott’s long pass and Tom James’s step inside Alexis Palisson – and with two penalties each by Giteau and Slade it was 18-13 with 54 minutes gone.

Thereafter Toulon’s heavy mob of Harlem Globetrotter forwards held sway – Ali Williams of the All Blacks in the line-out; the Springbok flanker Juan Smith on the floor – assisted by a generous attitude from Lacey to the home team after the tackle.

Wilkinson jogged on in the 58th minute and within another 10 the lead was 32-13, with his try added to one from a plot familiar from his England days: line-out ball off the top moved into midfield where an inside pass from Wilkinson to the onrushing Drew Mitchell was finished by Xavier Chiocci.

At least the concluding try, by Ben White for Exeter, converted by Ceri Sweeney, gave the wacky wearers of Chiefs headdresses some late fun in the Côte d’Azur sun.

Line-ups:

Toulon: D Mitchell; A Palisson (D Armitage 18), M Bastareaud, M Mermoz, D Smith (J Wilkinson 58); M Giteau, S Tillous-Borde (F Michalak 72); F Fresia (X Chiocci 60), J-C Orioli B Noirot 67), C Hayman (M Castrogiovanni 55), J Suta (K Mikaautadze 72), A Williams, J Smith, S Armitage, C Masoe (capt; V Bruni 11).

Exeter: L Arscott; J Nowell, I Whitten, P Dollman (S Hill 67), T James; H Slade (C Sweeney 72), H Thomas (W Chudley 75); B Moon (B Sturgess 67), J Yeandle (C Whitehead 67), H Tui (A Brown 67), D Mumm (capt), J Hanks (D Welch 54), T Johnson (B White 55), D Armand, D Ewers.

Referee: J Lacey (Ireland).

Llanelli Scarlets 13 Clermont Auvergne 31

Scarlets were over-powered on the pitch yesterday in much the same way as Welsh regions are dominated by French clubs in the transfer market.

Clermont-Auvergne, last season’s finalists, scored the fastest try in Heineken Cup history on their way to a bonus-point win. Many of the crowd at Parc Y Scarlets had barely taken their seats when Napolioni Nalaga pounced after 17 seconds.

Yet full credit to Scarlets, under-manned and under-funded in comparison to the giants from the Massif Central, they recovered from that early blow to take a 13-10 lead by half-time after Gareth Maule finished a scintillating 70-metre attack to score the try of the game.

The recovery was spirited but ultimately fell short as Simon Easterby’s side were simply swept aside by the French juggernaut, leading the Top 14, with 21 unanswered points in the second half. Indeed Clermont showed their title credentials by flexing their muscles after the break, not least in their scrum that claimed a penalty try before Fritz Lee and Nalaga completed the comeback.

Scarlets have now won only one of their last 10 Heineken Cup ties and all the promise of their winning start this season at Harlequins has faded. “We put ourselves under pressure by giving away too many points that Clermont did not have to work hard for,” said Easterby.

“You can’t cater for tries that early but the boys showed character to recover from it and push one of the best teams in Europe.The penalty try was dubious. Once the referee has given that number of penalties then he has to give a penalty try but we thought Samson Lee did a good job on Thomas Domingo who popped up a few times.

“That combined with our inaccuracy at times made it very difficult for us to get anything from this game. The type of game we had to play to beat Clermont was impossible in these conditions.”

They could not have made a worse start when Josh Turnbull coughed up possession from the kick-off. Thierry Lacrampe kicked ahead and Nalaga beat Nic Reynolds for the touchdown. By a quirk of fate, it was 11 years ago to the day that Daryl Gibson had scored the previous quickest Heineken Cup try in 26 seconds, for Bristol, against Scarlets’ historic rivals Swansea.

But Scarlets recovered and it was not until late in the game that the expected flood of points materialised. Instead they regained composure while French frustration spilled over. Clermont lost their talismanic captain, Aurelien Rougerie, to the sin bin following a punch-up in midfield involving Scot Williams. The yellow card allowed Rhys Priestland to kick Scarlets opening points before his quick thinking ensured they gained even more from the 10-minute spell. The Wales fly-half seized the chance with a quickly-taken penalty on his own 22-metre line. Williams provided the thrust though it needed Liam Williams to scoop possession off the deck for Priestland to release Maule. Priestland converted and added a second penalty before Delany halved their lead on the stroke of half-time.

Scarlets fans briefly allowed themselves to imagine another famous win when Brock James missed two penalties from in front of the posts.

But the front row was increasingly fighting a losing battle in the scrums and, after four successive penalties, Wayne Barnes, the referee, awarded the penalty try. It was the blow that finally broke Welsh resistance and Clermont went for the jugular as Lee and then Nalaga both went over from close range.

“That penalty try was the turning point. It unblocked the score and psychologically hurt them,” said Vern Cotter, the Clermont head coach.

Line-ups:

Scarlets: L Williams; N Reynolds, G Maule, S Williams, J Williams; R Priestland, G Davies (R Williams, 68); P John (capt, R Evans, 61), K Owens (E Phillips, 68), S Lee (R Jones, 68), J Ball (R Kelly, 61), G Earle, J Turnbull (J Snyman, 72), J Barclay, R McCusker.

Clermont Auvergne: J-M Buttin; S Sivivatu, A Rougerie (capt), R King, N Nalaga; M Delany (B James, 48), T Lacrampe (L Radosavljevic, 23); T Domingo (R Chaume, 69), B Kayser (T Paulo, 65), C Ric (V Debaty, 65), J Cudmore (N Hines, 61), J Pierre, J Bonnaire, J Bardy (F Lee, 51), D Chouly.

Referee: W Barnes (England).

Perpignan 17 Munster 18

A last-gasp try from JJ Hanrahan put Munster in pole position in Pool 6 after yet another thrilling Heineken Cup finish against Perpignan.

With the clock already in the red at the Stade Aime Giral, Hanrahan produced a stunning sidestep 25 metres out and touched down out wide to hand the 2006 and 2008 champions a third win in four pool games.

Italian international Tommaso Benvenuti looked to have dealt Munster's hopes of a third Heineken Cup crown a heavy blow when he crossed with less than two minutes remaining but Rob Penney's men kept the ball alive from the restart, with Denis Hurley and Tommy O'Donnell setting up Hanrahan's heroics.

Munster began brightly and thought they had claimed the opening try with just six minutes on the clock when openside flanker Sean Dougal scampered over from 10 metres out.

The celebrations were shortlived, however, as referee JP Doyle called for assistance and the TMO ruled that James Downey was guilty of obstruction.

Instead, it was Perpignan who scored first just moments later through a well-struck penalty from former Scotland U20 fly-half Tommy Allen.

Both sides found themselves down to 14 men after 13 minutes when Munster skipper Peter O'Mahony and Perpignan hooker Romain Terrain were sinbinned for an off-the-ball altercation that led to a mass brawl.

Ian Keatley kicked Munster level after a quarter of an hour but Allen edged Perpignan back in front with his second three minutes later.

His third strike after 24 minutes pushed Perpigan six points clear and it stayed that until the break, although both kickers should have added to their tally.

Keatley failed from the tee after half an hour and Allen followed suit four minutes later, with Keatley missing again with the final play off the half.

Munster started the second half in a similar manner to the first, as Paul O'Connell and co repeatedly demolished the Perpignan scrum.

Doyle awarded three penalties and a free kick at a five-metre setpiece before finally losing patience and pointing to the posts for a penalty try. Keatley's simple conversion handed Munster the lead for the first time on 50 minutes.

Perpignan responded well and should have gone back in front before the hour. Allen was off target again before they turned down another kickable penalty in favour of a quick tap and the chance went begging when former England No8 Luke Narraway failed to hang on to a dreadful pass out wide.

Perpignan did regain the advantage when Allen struck his fourth penalty from wide on the left after 63 minutes but the lead was shortlived as Keatley made it 13-12 with 13 minutes left.

Benvenuti's try out wide should have been enough for Perpignan but Munster have proved time and time again that they can never be written off in Europe.

Treviso 3 Ulster 35

Ulster surged further ahead at the top of Heineken Cup Pool Five after they secured maximum points from a 35-3 victory over Benetton Treviso at the Stadio di Monigo on Saturday afternoon.

The 1999 Heineken Cup winners scored four tries to claim a bonus point against the Italians for the second week running following the 48-0 thrashing in Belfast seven days ago.

Second-half scores from Craig Gilroy, Robbie Diack and Jared Payne accompanied a late first-half effort from Luke Marshall as Ulster made it four wins from four games following earlier successes against Leicester Tigers and Montpellier.

Ulster never looked like losing their unbeaten record once Marshall crossed two minutes before the break but they left it late to grab the bonus point when Payne dived over with not much more than a minute remaining.

Ulster started brightly as they looked to take the game to Treviso early on but they only had a 10th-minute penalty from Paddy Jackson to accompany their enthusiasm.

Alberto Di Bernardo levelled the scores just before the half hour with a straightforward penalty but the pivotal moment came two minutes before the break when Marshall touched down out wide for the first try of the game.

Payne's beautifully weighted chip ahead bounced perfectly for the inside centre and he did enough to squeeze in at the right-hand corner.

Jackson was off target with the conversion attempt but he ensured Ulster were two scores clear at the break as he struck a second penalty with the final play of the half.

Leading 11-3 at the start of the second period, Ulster moved further ahead thanks to a third strike from Jackson just six minutes in.

Brilliant interplay from Ruan Pienaar and Darren Cave then created a chance for Ulster out wide and Treviso full-back Brendan Williams was subsequently sinbinned for a deliberate knock on.

Ulster initially came away with nothing but they were soon celebrating a second try as the extra man told and Gilroy touched down out wide. Jackson sent over the impressive extras and Ulster were home and dry at 21-3 up with just over 16 minutes remaining.

Things got even better for Ulster almost immediately as Luke McLean saw yellow for offside after 67 minutes and Diack made him pay by burrowing through just 30 seconds later. Jackson again converted - this time from a far easier angle - and Ulster were 28-3 to the good, with 11 minutes left to find the bonus point score.

That came at the death when Andrew Trimble put Payne over to ensure Ulster head into rounds five and six in good shape to qualify for the knockout stages for the fourth year running.

Saracens 64 Zebre 7

Sarries record back to back wins over Zebre to hit the top of Pool Three and force Toulouse into producing a response after their defeat to Connacht last week.

Mark McCall's men scored nine tries - Duncan Taylor touching down twice - as Saracens ensured qualification in Pool 3 will go down to the wire after Christmas by taking maximum points.

Saracens, who won 39-10 against Zebre last week, continued where they had left off against the Italians as Farrell - starting for the North London club for the first time since the autumn internationals - slotted an early penalty.

It looked a very tall order for the whipping-boys of Pool 3, Zebre, to get anything out of the game and it got even harder after just four minutes with England wing David Strettle scoring his seventh try of the season after he was released by Ben Ransom.

Inevitably Farrell added the extras from the left-hand touchline as Saracens found themselves 10 points to the good with the game barely five minutes old.

Luciano Orquera had the opportunity to reduce the deficit for Zebre with a penalty attempt of his own after eight minutes but unfortunately he was unsuccessful.

The miss proved costly as Saracens put further daylight between themselves and their visitors. A period of sustained pressure and an attacking line-out resulted in Jacques Burger emerging from a pile of bodies to claim his side's second score. Farrell was this time unsuccessful with his kick at goal.

Zebre's openside Nicola Cattina did little to help his side out as he was sin-binned after 20 minutes for taking George Kruis out in the air allowing Farrell to kick deep into Zebre territory and Jamie George to rumble over for Saracens' third try of the afternoon.

Farrell kicked the extras to put Saracens in a commanding 22-0 lead with only a quarter of the game gone.

And after 26 minutes Saracens secured the bonus point as Chris Ashton and Duncan Taylor combined superbly for Richard Wigglesworth to score, Farrell again converting for the home side.

Orquera finally got the Italians on the scoreboard after 29 minutes with a well-taken penalty but it did little to ease the continuous Sarries pressure.

It took just five minutes of the second-half for Sarries to score their fifth try of the game, Ben Ransom strolling over after a powerful-break and interchange between Billy Vunipola and George and Farrell converting.

Just minutes later Wigglesworth displayed quick-thinking from a tap penalty to set-up Taylor for Saracens' sixth score of the afternoon. The ever-reliable Farrell kicked the extras to make the score 43-3.

The strength of the two clubs was never more evident than when Saracens started to empty their replacement's bench in the final quarter - Lions Matt Stevens and Mako Vunipola, plus England international Alex Goode among those entering the fray.

After 62 minutes Saracens brought up their half century as Taylor went over for his team's seventh try of the game but he seemed to injure himself in the process, Farrell again converting.

After a hugely physical showing it seemed almost inevitable England No.8 Billy Vunipola would barge his way over a score and that's exactly what he did after in the final quarter as Zebre began to tire.

Jackson Wray was sin-binned for Saracens in the final stages but despite the numerical disadvantage there was still time for England wing Ashton to score try number nine for the home side.