Sharks show fight in Toulouse defeat

MATCH REPORT: A Sharks outfit without their big names arrived in Toulouse with nothing to lose and plenty to prove, and while they showed enterprise and fight, they ultimately came up short against the French heavyweights.

The motley crew Sharks side chosen to take on French giants Toulouse battled bravely, but the gulf in class was clear as they went down 19-56 at Stade Ernest-Wallon on Sunday.

There was no deference shown in their selection or approach for this opening Champions Cup clash, and Toulouse’s quality ultimately told.

Granted, it was a heavy scoreline, but it was encouraging to see the enterprise and intensity shown by the second-stringers against a loaded Toulouse side.

It took the highly rated Toulouse only three minutes to get on the scoreboard as Italian winger Ange Capuozzo managed to touch down a kick through to put the first points of the game on the board.

Ten minutes later, it was hooker Julien Marchand’s turn to get over the whitewash as the homeside drove over from a lineout. Ramos converted to take Toulouse to 14-0.

In quick succession, the No.2 grabbed a second coming off a scrum five metres out, again converted by Ramos.

It was only 20 minutes of play, but the Sharks were in real trouble already.

The bonus point try came in the 24th minute as a wonderful passing move by Stade Toulousain is finished off by Kalvin Gourgues, with the conversion taking them to 28-0.

The Sharks finally hit back as Nick Hatton got over after winning a lineout ball. Jordan Hendrikse couldn’t convert.

The Sharks were fighting fire all the time, trying to keep the men in fiery red in tact, but the difference in quality was evident.

The rattled visitors opted for touch after winning a penalty at the breakdown, and Hendrikse found touch close to Toulouse’s 22, but the line-out ball was lost by the Sharks again.

At halftime, Toulouse was leading 28-5 after four tries to one.

To their credit, the Sharks held their own in the scrums in the first half, but the difference in quality was very evident.

Toulouse went on in the second half where they left off before halftime, dominating all facets of play.

And then they unleashed their world star, Antoine Dupont, in the 45th minute.

The Sharks had a good little spell after Batho Hlekani broke through, and play took them into the red zone.

Their efforts paid off as Ross Braude sneaked over following a strong Sharks scrum, closing the gap to 12-28 after Hendrikse added the extras.

It looked like the Sharks finally found their mojo and managed to string together some good phases.

A touch finder by Jean Smith set up an opportunity for the second try but it was a self-inflicted wound as it was bungled.

Smith certainly made a big difference after replacing Hendrikse, as he managed to get the Sharks on the front foot and offered them some real opportunities with clever kicking.

Hatton nearly got over, but then Braude flung the ball a mile over the top of Yaw Penxe’s head.

It felt like Toulouse sat back and allowed the Sharks to play, merely defending their lead.

But Toulouse only needed a sniff of a chance, and they took it as Capuozzo sliced through from a lineout move to grab his second.

Not too long after, they grabbed their sixth and, after the conversion, took the score to 42-12 with 12 minutes of play left on the clock.

They were not done yet, and on the stroke of 70 minutes, the brilliant Capuozzo grabbed his third with a little overhead chip, which he collected and scored.

The visitors ended in style when Le Roux Malan dove over three minutes before full-time.

Not to be undone, Toulouse finished on script with their eighth try after some unorthodox basketball passes.

Scorers:

For Toulouse:
Tries: Capuozzo 3, Marchand 2, Gourgues, Ferreira, Thomas
Cons: Ramos 8

For Sharks:
Tries: Hatton, Braude, Malan
Cons: Hendrikse, Smith

Teams:

Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Teddy Thomas, 12 Kalvin Gourgues, 11 Dimitri Delibes, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Paul Graou, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Leo Banos, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Joel Merkler, 2 Julien Marchand (captain), 1 Rodrigue Neti
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 David Ainu’u, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Mathis Castro-Ferreira, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Paul Costes, 23 Nelson Épée

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Le Roux Malan, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazola Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Matt Romao, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Mawande Mdanda, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Simphiwe Ngobese, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Jannes Potgieter, 20 Tinotenda Mavesere, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Phikolomzi Sobahle

Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England), Simon Harding (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)