Toulon wins card game in PE

MATCH REPORT: Three-times European champions Toulon taught the Stormers a lesson in game management to come from behind and win their Champions Cup Round One outing 24-14 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, in Port Elizabeth, on Saturday.

It was a brutal and often spiteful encounter, especially in a second half that produced four cards – one red and three yellow.

Yannick Youyoutte was red-carded for head-to-head contact, Willie Engelbrecht (yellow – cynical foul, collapsing a maul near the line), Marius Domon (yellow – cynical foul, slapping the ball down) and Leolin Zas (yellow – foul play, shoulder charge to the head).

However, it was the brain fades by the ‘home’ team, the Stormers, that was most costly.

Trailing 10-14 at the break, Toulon increased the physicality and intensity of the game to dominate the second half and outscore their hosts by two tries to none.

The main game driver for the visitors was French international scrumhalf Baptiste Serin, who was vital in securing a valuable win on the road.

* To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!

* Article continues below …

Both Joseph Dweba and Willie Engelbrecht made their 50th appearances for the hosts, in what was the first-ever Champions Cup encounter in Port Elizabeth.

Toulon named a strong cast, with big names such as Dan Biggar and Gabin Villière starting for the TOP 14 side.

Wing Gabin Villiere opened the scoring in the fourth minute from a sublime backline move. Scrumhalf Baptiste Serin added the conversion and a penalty five minutes later as the visitors took a 10-0 lead in as many minutes.

The Stormers’ back three – Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Leolin Zas – combined to send Gelant over with a sublime dive in the 14th minute. Manie Libbok’s conversion closed the gap to three points – 7-10.

Tempers flared at times and referee Karl Dickson had a chat with both teams as the first quarter came to a close.

The rest of the half was mostly played between the two 22-metre lines, as the teams both employed a territorial-orientated game.

On the stroke of half-time, Libbok managed to set a line-out deep inside the Toulon 22 and Joseph Dweba got an armchair ride over the line from a powerful maul. Libbok added the conversion to give the Stormers a four-point (14-10) lead at the break.

The intensity and tempers continued to rise in the second half, with No.8 Willie Engelbrecht paying the price for the team’s lack of discipline – yellow-carded for cynically collapsing a maul near the tryline.

Despite being a man down, the Stormers not only held out the visitors, but worked their way Upfield where they won a penalty.

Libbok, from 45 metres out, was short with his attempt to stretch the lead.

He then had a brain-fade, knocking the ball forward inside the Stormers’ ingoal area.

A free-kick against the Stormers at the scrum saw No.8 Facundo Isa charging over from five metres out. Serin added the conversion as the visitors reclaimed the lead – 17-14.

That was followed by a massive hit from Gabin Villiere on Libbok, who spilled the ball. It was hacked ahead, with Serin collecting and scoring the try. The scrumhalf added the conversion for a 10-point (24-14) with 15 minutes remaining.

It was the Stormers who now chased the game and having to play from deep against an astute tactical French opponent.

Libbok was then knocked out, after Suleiman Hartzenberg ran an obstructive line and blocking the defender’s view. However, TMO Dean Richards and referee Karl Dickson found that replacement Yannick Youyoutte was at fault and red-carded the Frenchman.

A minute later fullback Marius Domon was yellow-carded for cynically slapping the ball down).

And almost immediately wing Leolin Zas was yellow-carded for charging into the contact area with his shoulder.

The visitors managed the closing minutes better and hung on for a 10-point win.

The scorers

For the Stormers
Tries: Gelant, Dweba
Cons: Libbok 2

For Toulon
Tries: Villiere, Isa, Serin
Cons: Serin 3
Pen: Serin

Red card: Yannick Youyoutte (Toulon, 72 – foul play, head-to-head contact)
Yellow cards: Willie Engelbrecht (Stormers, 51 – cynical foul, collapsing a maul near the line), Marius Domon (Toulon, 73 – cynical foul, slapping the ball down), Leolin Zas (Stormers, 74 – foul play, shoulder charge to the head)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Keke Morabe, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouche (captain), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Seabelo Senatla.

Toulon: 15 Marius Domon, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Mathieu Smaili, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Jules Coulon, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 David Ribbans (captain), 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Brian Alainu’uese, 20 Yannick Youyoutte, 21 Enzo Herve, 22 Antoine Frisch, 23 Jiuta Wainiqolo

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England), John Meredith (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)

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