It's an all-French Final
CHALLENGE CUP WRAP: Two French clubs, Lyon and Toulon, will face off in the Final at the Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, Friday, May 27.
In Saturday’s semifinals, Lyon beat Wasps 20-18 in the thriller at Matmut Stadium de Gerland, Lyon, while Toulon held out against Saracens for a 25-16 win at Stade Félix Mayol, in Toulon.
Two tries from Gabin Villière helped Toulon to the win over Saracens.
Villière’s fantastic double and a stunning Jiuta Naqoli Wainiqolo effort, in addition to 10 points from Louis Carbonel, saw the hosts emerge victorious after a bruising encounter between two three-time European champions.
Saracens crossed through Ben Earl and Owen Farrell kicked 11 points, but they were ultimately unable to match the hosts’ immense physicality.
Toulon flew out of the blocks and put Saracens on the back foot after forcing a turnover, with wing Villière going over in the corner after a smart kick from scrumhalf Baptiste Serin.
Flyhalf Carbonel’s conversion extended Toulon’s lead, but the gap was cut to four points on 12 minutes as Saracens counterpart Farrell nudged a penalty over the posts.
Farrell took aim from the tee again moments later but saw his effort cannon off the post, only for flank Earl to charge down Toulon’s clearing kick and dot down brilliantly. Farrell’s conversion put Saracens 10-7 up.
Farrell and Carbonel slotted a penalty apiece as the first half ticked by, the Toulon man pulling another effort wide before the hosts eventually reclaimed the lead as a slick move saw Villière cross for his second of the evening in the final play.
Centre Elliot Daly was off target with a long-range penalty early in the second half as Saracens looked to move back in front, but Toulon would extend their lead on 52 minutes as Carbonel knocked over another three-pointer.
Farrell reduced that deficit with his third penalty of the game six minutes later, but wing Wainiqolo produced a brilliant try as he stepped inside to beat a handful of Saracens defenders and swing the momentum back in Toulon’s favour, Carbonel’s extras sending the hosts 11 points clear.
Saracens’ rhythm was regularly disrupted by terrific Toulon defence, and they ultimately kept the visitors at bay – replacement Callum Hunter-Hill held up as he looked to drive over from close range with 10 minutes to play.
And there would be no further chances for Saracens as Toulon stormed into the Final.
* Earlier Lyon reached a first European Final in their history after beating Wasps.
Leo Berdeu scored one of the tries of the Challenge Cup 2021/22 campaign on his way to recording 15 points, with replacement Yanis Charcosset also crossing for the hosts.
Dan Robson and Jimmy Gopperth went over for Wasps, with 38-year-old Gopperth kicking an additional eight points for Lee Blackett’s men.
Following a scrappy start to the game, Wasps’ Robson broke the deadlock in the 24th minute after finding a gap in the Lyon defensive line to dive over for his second EPCR Challenge Cup try of the season.
Berdeu got Lyon’s first points of the game as the 23-year-old slotted a three-pointer, but Wasps quickly restored their five-point lead going into the interval as Gopperth kicked a penalty of his own.
The hosts would take the lead after the break, as Berdeu started and finished off a wonderful team try that began near Lyon’s 22, before going on to improve his own score.
However, another Gopperth penalty meant Lyon’s lead was short-lived as Wasps took a one-point advantage.
The score would then go back in Lyon’s favour, as a successful turnover led to Charcosset bundling over following a period of relentless pressure from the hosts, with Berdeu going on to add the extras.
Lyon then opened up a nine-point lead as Berdeu slotted another penalty for the TOP 14 side.
Dan Frost thought he had reduced the deficit when the replacement made a break to dive over under the posts, only for his try to be cancelled by the TMO due to a knock-on from Francois Hougaard.
However, Wasps would score again through Gopperth following a smart line-out move, with the New Zealander’s conversion cutting the deficit to two with five minutes to go.
Despite Wasps’ best efforts, Lyon was able to hold on to their lead and secure their spot in the EPCR Challenge Cup Final.
* The scorers and scorers from the semifinals ...
Lyon 20-18 Wasps
The scorers
For Lyon
Tries: Berdeu, Charcosset
Cons: Berdeu 2
Pens: Berdeu 2
For Wasps
Tries: Robson, Gopperth
Con: Gopperth
Pens: Gopperth 2
The teams:
Lyon: 15 Toby Arnold, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Leo Berdeu, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Patrick Sobela (captain), 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Guillaume Marchand, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua.
Replacements: 16 Yanis Charcosset, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Felix Lambey, 23 Xavier Mignot.
Wasps: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Bi Alo, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Tom West.
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Elliott Millar-Mills, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Will Porter, 22 Sam Spink, 23 Zach Kibrige.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Toulon 25-16 Saracens
The scorers
For Toulon
Tries: Villière 2, Wainiqolo
Cons: Carbonel 2
Pens: Carbonel 2
For Saracens
Try: Earl
Con: Farrell
Pens: Farrell 3
The teams:
Toulon: 15 Aymeric Luc, 14 Jiuta Naqoli Wainiqolo, 13 Mathieu Smaili, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Gabin Villière, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Charles Ollivon (captain), 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 Brian Alainu’uese, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Jean Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Bruce Devaux, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Raphael Lakafia, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Swan Rebbadj, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Julien Blanc.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Max Malins, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rotimi Según, 10 Owen Farrell (captain), 9 Aled Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Andy Christie, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Alex Lozowski.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)
Source: @ChallengeCup_
