Leinster’s collective spirit shows up shoddy Toulon
would have put the ball into the stands. But that would be a side worried about the short-term.
Leinster are craving the complete performance, and they trust their skill and decisionmaking. So, they took a quick tap, a dart, a long pass, a half-chance. Wasps’ fly-half, Lima Sopoaga, knocked the ball down deliberately and picked up a harsh yellow card. Leinster got their second penalty, kicked it to the corner, drove the line-out catch with power and Luke Mcgrath sniped for a try that was converted to send Leinster in at half-time 14-3 ahead.
With the wind behind them in the second half, and with Sopoaga in the bin, the game was well and truly over.
Leinster’s willingness to tap and go showed they have a ruthless attitude to clock, territory and opposition. They are champions ready to defend their trophy, bonded by a common purpose.
Toulon are the opposite. Toulon were supposed to be all about euros and glory: a billionaire owner, neon lights, the Pilou-pilou. They had no interest in the French national team, or the individual player calendar. It was all guns for hire, with coaches on rotation.
Toulon today are just flash. The big moments get big cheers from the crowd but then there is a quick slide back to mediocrity. The lack of care. The lack of attention. The frustration that it is not happening for them by divine right, means they drift out of the game and lose concentration.
Newcastle are bottom of the Gallagher Premiership and, while they are not a bad team, they had made 10 changes to the starting XV from the previous week, some dropped, some rested. They got off to a disastrous start, conceding a try in the first 20 seconds.
The scene seemed set. Toulon have lost one home game in the pool stages, to a brilliant Saracens, but they did not seem to care about this record. What we saw was a collective malfunctioning that was like Freddie Burns and his Bath blunder, only many times worse.
In the dying minutes, Toulon were still 25-23 ahead and were awarded a scrum penalty on the halfway line. Anthony Belleau had the responsibility of kicking to touch.
Belleau, just for the record, is a No 10 playing at inside centre, alongside JP Pietersen, who is a winger now playing at outside centre. All season Toulon’s selection has looked like a tombola.
Anyway, back to the penalty. A safe touch would have killed the game because the line-out drive had been smashing Newcastle all afternoon. Belleau, though, was greedy and kicked it dead.
Newcastle now had a scrum. Unlike Toulon, whatever shortcomings they may have in other areas, the Falcons play with care and respect for each other.
Under pressure, Toulon’s Julian Savea conceded a penalty and received a yellow card. The penalty was kicked, giving Newcastle the lead. There was still time for Toulon to try to salvage something. They restarted and got a penalty deep into Newcastle territory – 15 metres in from the touchline, 22 yards out – a low-tariff kick. The score was 25-26. But Toulon kicked for the corner. Perhaps they were thinking of the bonus-point try – or not thinking at all. The line-out was lost, the game was up.
Not long ago, Toulon at Felix Mayol were the stuff of nightmares. Now, they are shadows of their former selves. Giants and big men still as individuals, but smaller than their combined parts as a team.
The decline has been shocking. By way of contrast, we can look to Ireland and Leinster to see what can be achieved when union, team and players are all pulling in the same direction.