Habana sends Toulon to the Final
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A Bryan Habana try in extra time gave the reigning champions a 25-20 victory over Leinster in a tight European Cup semifinal match in Marseille on Sunday.
Toulon's Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny kicked six penalties and converted a Habana interception try for a personal haul of 20 points in an ultimately thrilling match that went to extra-time after finishing 12-12 after regulation time.
Leinster had Ian Madigan to thank for five penalties, while Sean O'Brien scored a late try that made for a nerve-racking climax.
Turnovers, ruck penalties and handling errors saw out a tight if uninspiring, pressure-laden first half during which Toulon failed to convert their territorial domination into points.
Halfpenny bagged two penalties to three from Madigan in the opening 40 minutes at Marseille's packed Stade Velodrome.
Halfpenny missed a third penalty effort early in the second period, but was then on hand to snuffle out a Jimmy Gopperth chargedown in Toulon's 22 metre area as Leinster pressed.
The Wales and British Lion fullback eventually pulled the scores level after 56 minutes with a penalty as blue skies replaced the rain of the first half.
It was then Madigan's turn to miss a penalty, Toulon immediately into action as Guilhem Guirado charged down Madigan's clearance kick, with only desperate defence stopping the red surge towards the whitewash.
Gopperth was penalised for not rolling away a minute later, Halfpenny kicking his fourth three-pointer to take the lead.
But Toulon's Juan Fernandez Lobbe committed a stupid infringement in front of referee Wayne Barnes's eagle eye, toe poking the ball out of a ruck.
Madigan made no mistake from long range to draw the scores level again.
With two minutes to play, Gopperth sent a snap drop goal just wide, and Rob Kearney sent one just short from the resulting 22 kickout in a nerve-racking finish.
Delon Armitage then had a chance to end the game with a 55-metre penalty, but his effort fell well short, meaning extra-time.
Two minutes in, the Toulon scrum destroyed their Irish counterpart and Halfpenny booted his fifth penalty to put the pressure on Leinster.
But once again, Madigan came straight back with one of his own after dangerous play by replacement lock Jocelino Suta.
Suta's partner Ali Williams was then shown a yellow card for making contact with Devin Toner in the air.
But Toulon did not sit back despite being down to 14 men, Halfpenny nailing his sixth penalty as the irrepressible Chris Masoe tried to force a turnover.
And then Springbok wing Habana intercepted Madigan's long looped pass and sprinted away for a try converted by Halfpenny.
But Leinster heads did not go down, Sean O'Brien being driven over for a try Gopperth failed to convert to make for a shaky end to the game.
Man of the Match: It was game that was always going to be a grind, that is why the most important players would always be the kickers and the forwards. Ian Madigan had a very up and down game while Leigh Halfpenny was accurate as always, but far from spectacular. Steffon Armitage got an extended run, coming on for the injured Juan Smith, and did what he does best. However, he was outplayed by Irish flank Sean O'Brien, who was superb!
Scorers:
For Toulon:
Try: Habana
Con: Halfpenny
Pens: Halfpenny 6
For Leinster:
Try: O'Brien
Pens: Madigan 5
Yellow Card: Ali Williams (Toulon, 87 – dangerous tackle, taking the man out in the air)
Teams:
Toulon: Toulon: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Delon Armitage, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman (captain), 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Xavier Chiocci.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Steffon Armitage, 20 Drew Mitchell, 21 Rudi Wulf, 22 Michael Claassens, 23 Jocelino Suta
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Jordi Murphy, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Ben Marshall, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Gordon D'Arcy, 23 Zane Kirchner
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Greg Garner (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
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