TOULOUSE 36 ULSTER 8
Four-time European champions Toulouse marched on to another Heineken Champions Cup semi-final this afternoon at the expense of Ulster, running five tries past Dan McFarland’s men at the Stade Ernest Wallon in a trademark powerhouse display.
A try and penalty from John Cooney were all Ulster had to show for their travails in south-western France, and while the visitors enjoyed some good moments in the game, they were no match for the firepower of electric winger Cheslin Kolbe and his fellow galacticos.
Five changes to the first XV that faced up to Leinster in last weekend’s Guinness Pro14 final saw scrum-half Cooney, props Jack McGrath and Marty Moore, and flankers Sean Reidy and Jordi Murphy all start this afternoon.
The otherwise unchanged back line comprised Michael Lowry at full-back, Rob Lyttle and Jacob Stockdale out wide, James Hume and Stuart McCloskey in the centre, and Billy Burns at out-half.
In the pack, Rob Herring retained his place at hooker, with Alan O’Connor and Iain Henderson in the second row, and Nick Timoney at Number Eight.
Les Rouge et Noir started with their tails up, and after three minutes of uninterrupted possession – with Hume out of the picture receiving treatment to his shoulder – a looping pass from Antoine Dupont found Kolbe on his wing five metres from the try-line, and the World Cup winner side-stepped Stockdale to ground.
Two pieces of good fortune followed for Ulster, however, with Thomas Ramos’ conversion veering wide and Hume adjudged fit to continue, and good box-kicking from both Burns and Cooney, then a swift line break by the out-half, got the visitors some decent game-time in the Toulouse half.
Toulouse were next on the scoresheet, however, with Ramos this time making no faux pas with a 14th-minute penalty, and a piece of magic from Dupont at the restart saw the scrum-half – lauded by McFarland as the best in the world in the run-up to today’s game – evade half of the Ulster team on a jinking run from deep that only ended with Burns bundling him into touch at the Ulster ‘22’.
The crucial intervention came at a high price, Burns limping off with a calf injury moments later, but his replacement Matt Faddes was straight into the action, linking up with McCloskey in Ulster’s best move to date, which just fell short due to a forward pass from Murphy.
With Stockdale moving to full-back and Lowry to 10 in order to accommodate Faddes on the wing, a missed penalty from Ramos was swiftly followed by a successful attempt from Cooney, bringing Ulster to within five points of their hosts, who began to show subtle signs of indiscipline as the half-hour mark approached.
Another miss from the boot of Ramos topped up the Toulouse frustration, and a great break from deep by Lowry gave them further cause for concern – only assuaged a minute before the interval when Kolbe picked up from hooker Peato Mauvaka and danced his way past Stockdale and McGrath for his second try of the afternoon.
This time Ramos’ aim from the tee was true, sending his side off 12 points to the good – a margin their overall performance in the half had earned.
Half-Time Score Toulouse 15 Ulster 3
Matthew Rea joined the action within three minutes of the restart, replacing Timoney, and three early infractions from Toulouse allowed Ulster to creep upfield to the five-metre line, where first the forwards then the backs pummelled the French rearguard – all to no avail as exemplary defence eventually forced the turnover.
Toulouse had no such trouble converting their next chance on 50 minutes, Sofiane Guitone breaking through a fissure in the centre of the Ulster midfield and supplying Dupont for try number three under the posts.
Ramos converted and with multiple changes bringing on Eric O’Sullivan, Sam Carter, Kieran Treadwell and Alby Mathewson for McGrath, O’Connor, Henderson and McCloskey respectively, Ulster faced up to the final quarter 19 points adrift.
The deficit soon became 26 thanks to a fine solo score from centre Pita Ahki, who grounded his own chip and chase by the left-hand corner flag, with Ramos adding the extras, before the full-back added a fifth try on 67 minutes after another incisive break from Guitone.
Ulster’s consolation came three minutes later, courtesy of a delightful Lowry kick to the left wing, collected and grounded by makeshift wide man Cooney – the try re-establishing the Dubliner as the tournament’s leading scorer on 76 points.
Ulster will now enjoy a short break before the start of the 2020/21 Guinness Pro14 season – provisionally set for the first weekend in October – while Toulouse march on to face either Exeter Chiefs or Northampton Saints next weekend in their second consecutive Heineken Champions Cup semi-final.
Full-Time Score Toulouse 36 Ulster 8
Toulouse (15 – 9) Thomas Ramos; Yoann Huget, Sofiane Guitone, Pita Akhi, Cheslin Kolbe; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont
(1 – 8) Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Charlie Faumuina, Rory Arnold, Joe Tekori, Jerome Kaino (c), François Cros, Selevasio Tolofua
Replacements (16 – 23) Julien Marchand, Rodrigue Neti, Dorian Aldegheri, Emmanuel Meafou, Alban Placines, Zack Holmes, Alexis Balès, Matthis Lebel
Ulster (15 – 9) Michael Lowry; Rob Lyttle, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Jack McGrath, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson (c), Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Nick Timoney
Replacements (16 – 23) John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Sam Carter, Kieran Treadwell, Alby Mathewson, Matt Faddes, Matthew Rea
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