Toulouse tornado can’t be tamed
Exeter blown away by second-half blitz
TOULOUSE 64 EXETER CHIEFS 26
FOR almost 50 minutes, exeter took the fight to the most successful club in the history of european competition, before toulouse buried them under an avalanche, led by their stellar British imports.
Former england flanker Jack Willis and Scotland full back Blair Kinghorn had a colossal influence on this quarter-final, which went from being a tight tussle to become a glaring mismatch in the space of 10 secondhalf minutes.
Willis scored a thunderous try and rampaged repeatedly through the Chiefs’ defence, while Kinghorn touched down twice and ended with 23 points — kicking five conversions and a penalty.
Afterwards, Willis was asked how it feels to hear a French crowd chanting his name and said: ‘it means a lot. Hopefully that means i am winning them over.’
He certainly is. they adore the master poacher’s combative quality and he is proving he belongs among their superstars after a sudden relocation following the collapse of his beloved Wasps.
Willis may be unable to play for england while he is earning a living here, but there are significant compensations — and not just financial ones.
He is part of a special team and added: ‘i absolutely love it. the passion out here is incredible. i want to compete for trophies at the end of the season. that is what i love about this place.’
Until the break, rob Baxter’s gallant young exeter team hinted at another shock this side of the Channel, just as they did in the pool stage, when they went to the Cote d’Azur and stunned the once formidable toulon.
england flanker ethan roots’ try put them ahead and the visitors were aggressive as they scrapped and spoiled. Captain Dafydd Jenkins led the resistance with towering authority.
But after a Henry Slade penalty early in the second half, the lights went out on exeter. they were torn to pieces by ruthless opponents hell-bent on claiming their sixth european Cup.
toulouse, backed by fervent support, are a fearsome multinational force and ended this match as a contest between the 48th and 58th minutes, with four tries and 28 unanswered points.
it was dazzling to behold. Under the fierce sun, they played champagne rugby. this was the essence of French flair, with flavours from several other countries.
First, Kinghorn struck after romain ntamack had gone through a gap in the exeter 22. next, from an attacking lineout, Matthis Lebel stormed clear and released Pita Ahki to romp to the line.
toulouse then conjured a showstopper try with Paul Costes and Juan Cruz Mallia combining to send Kinghorn over again. Just before the hour, Willis led a breakout which yielded a try for Antoine Dupont. that was it; game, set and match. exeter were out of it, in a flash.
there was an act of defiance when Zack Wimbush scored at the other end but the procession went on with further toulouse tries for Mallia — twice — and Ahki again. their high-tempo offloading game proved impossible to contain and their depth of firepower was summed up when France stalwarts thomas ramos, Julien Marchand and thibaud Flament were deployed from the bench.
Harlequins’ prize for upsetting Bordeaux is the chance to come and take a shot at this remarkable collection of Galacticos in the semi-finals on May 5. exeter will lick their wounds and try to regroup for a last push to secure a place in the Premiership play-offs. they will learn from this brutal experience.
‘i just don’t think we could hold it together for much longer than we did until half-time,’ said Baxter, the Devon club’s director of rugby. ‘ Once toulouse got into that off-loading game it was just try, try, try, try. We were chasing shadows then. now, we have to roll our sleeves up and look forward to the Premiership again. We are only a couple of wins away from getting right in the top four mix.’