Toulouse play-off hopes on hold
Toulouse will have to wait till the last Top 14 game of the season in a fortnight to see whether or not they qualify for the play-offs after being held 19-19 by relegation-threatened Oyonnax on Saturday.
The point sees the 19-time champions – who have reached the semifinals at least for the past 20 seasons – occupy the sixth and last place for the play-offs.
For Oyonnax the point lifted them to fourth from bottom onto 50 points and their hopes of survival received a massive boost later on Saturday when European champions Toulon humbled Perpignan 46-31 in Barcelona.
While victory saw Toulon – for whom French flyhalf Frederic Michalak scored 26 points – go top of the table, defeat left seven time champions Perpignan third from bottom.
Perpignan's hopes of not joining fellow ailing giants Biarritz in the second tier next season look slim as their final match is a trip to Clermont where the hosts are unbeaten in 76 matches.
Toulouse, with the wind behind them, opened the scoring with a neatly-taken drop-goal by Jean-Marc Doussain, the French international scrumhalf deputising once again at flyhalf for first choice All Black Luke McAlister.
Oyonnax's Argentinian international flyhalf Benjamin Urdapilleta – who has scored over 50 percent of his side's points this season – drew the hosts level shortly afterwards with a penalty.
However, he was less successful with a second penalty attempt in the 20th minute after some sustained pressure induced the visitors into an infringement and failed to make amends three minutes later as almost from the same spot his effort came back off the outside of the post.
Doussain for his part made no mistake when offered the chance to restore Toulouse's early lead, slotting over a penalty in the 26th minute for 6-3 and the 23-year-old added another shortly before the half hour mark for 9-3.
Oyonnax, though, went into the half-time break ahead after their fullback Florian Denos, who came through the Toulouse academy, touched down Urdapilleta's superbly judged chip kick into the Toulouse try area.
The Argentinian added the conversion to give them a 10-9 lead.
Doussain failed to restore Toulouse's lead early in the second-half as his penalty went wide but more than made up for that with a try in the 47th minute as he sold Urdapilleta a dummy and the broke another tackle to touch down.
He converted his try to make it 16-10.
The hosts reduced the deficit to three though as the Toulouse scrum conceded a penalty which Urdapilleta converted for 16-13.
Oyonnax were reduced to 14 men in the 59th minute when captain Roimata Hansell-Pune was sin-binned for tackling Doussain after the whistle had gone – Doussain missed the resulting penalty.
However, he succeeded with another attempt to make it 19-13 – Urdapilleta, though, kept the hosts in touch by adding one of his own with 18 minutes remaining for 19-16.
The hosts thought they had regained the lead with a second try with eight minutes remaining but the video referee ruled it out for a knock on earlier in the move.
Urdapilleta levelled the game with another penalty and they held on for a deserved share of the points as Toulouse's former France international fly-half Lionel Beauxis missed with a penalty in front of the posts in the final minute.
Toulouse legendary head coach Guy Noves was satisfied to have come away with a share of the points.
"We didn't put together a perfect performance but in terms of spirit we were perfect," he said.
"We will be playing the equivalent of a knockout match against Grenoble [their final match]."
Results:
Biarritz Olympique 19-13 CA Brive-Corrèze
Grenoble 21-21 Aviron Bayonnais
Racing Métro 92 22-6 ASM Clermont
Perpignan 31-46 Rugby Club Toulonnais
Oyonnax 19-19 Stade Toulousain
Castres Olympique 22-15 Montpellier Hérault
AFP
