Kolbe stars in Toulouse win
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: In a repeat of the 2004 Final, undefeated Toulouse beat Wasps 24-16 on Saturday to remain on course for a quarterfinal spot and all but knock the English club out.
In an impressive display of forward power and flowing clinical back play, the four-time former champions claimed a seventh straight victory across all competitions thanks to tries from threequarters Cheslin Kolbe and Sofiane Guitoune in Coventry.
Both efforts came directly from clean first phase possession as internationals Kolbe and Guitoune crashed through Wasps’ former All Blacks flyhalf Lima Sopoaga on separate occasions before touching down.
Wasps have a very difficult task ahead of them if they’re to claim a last-eight spot needing to win their remaining three fixtures.
It has been a controversial week for the winners 14 years ago in Twickenham with reports of front-line players like Elliott Daly and Willie le Roux leaving the club at the end of the season.
Daly slotted two long-range penalty goals which highlighted how much of a miss the England back would be if he were to depart.
A victory for Ugo Mola’s at home next Saturday would almost guarantee them a quarterfinal berth before a trip to Dublin and playing Bath at Stade Ernest-Wallon
The scorers:
For Wasps:
Try: Rowlands
Con: Sopoaga
Pens: Sopoaga, Daly 2
For Toulouse:
Tries: Kolbe, Guitoune
Con: Ramos
Pens: Ramos 4
Yellow cards: Maks Van Dyk (Toulouse, 31), Louis Madaule (Toulouse, 68)
Teams
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Ross Neal, 13 Elliot Daly (c), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Craig Hampson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Will Porter, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Juan de Jongh
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Carl Axtens, 3 Maks Van Dyk, 2 Julien Marchand (c), 1 Lucas Pointud
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Clément Castets, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Gillian Galan, 20 Louis Madaule, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Arthur Bonneval
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland), Barrie O’Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
