Agony In Toulon: Stormers Fall One Point Short In Stade Mayol Thriller

The DHL Stormers were eliminated from the Investec Champions Cup following a gut-wrenching 28-27 loss to Toulon.

Despite tries from Adre Smith, Evan Roos, and Imad Khan, the Cape side couldn’t overcome the French giants in a pulsated Stade Mayol.

The Stormers had to withstand a relentless onslaught from Toulon in the opening quarter of the game, as the hosts continued to dominate both possession and territory throughout the half. 

You could forgive the French side for feeling aggrieved, as their dominance failed to translate into the points they were seeking on the scoreboard.

Toulon seized the early initiative, forcing the Stormers to withstand a sustained attacking onslaught. The French side dictated the tempo with a sense of speed and rapid ball movement that left the Cape outfit chasing shadows.

Toulon earned two attacking line-outs and broke swiftly from the maul on both occasions, looking certain to score, only to be denied by resolute Stormers defence.

It was from open play, though, that Toulon found success, as a series of quick passes found Gael Drean on the wing. In a one-on-one situation, he drew the solitary defender and fed scrum-half Ben White on the inside for an easy dot down – his first try of the Investec Champions Cup.

Marius Domon slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead after ten minutes.

The Stormers didn’t establish a foothold in Toulon’s half until the 18th minute.

After winning a scrum penalty, the Stormers opted to kick for poles. Jurie Matthee put it between the sticks for the Stormers’ first points of the game, in the 20th minute, narrowing the score to 7-3.

The Stormers were enjoying more of the ball and following some good work by Cobus Reinach around the fringes, and strong marauding runs from the forwards, it was Adre Smith who ran into space for a try under the posts unchallenged. 

Matthee slotted the conversion as the Stormers took the lead, 10-7, with 25 minutes gone. 

The Stormers once again showed solid resistance in the face of the multi-phase play of Toulon – but when they strayed offside, it offered the French an opportunity to spread the ball.

With the defence stretched and advantage in their favour, Drean touched down with the try-line at his mercy.

Tomas Albornoz put over the conversion to give Toulon a 14-10 lead.

Matthee showed his immense kicking prowess again when he slotted a wonderful penalty – won due to Toulon being offside – in the 35th minute to reduce the deficit to a single point, 14-13. 

HALF-TIME: TOULON 14-13 STORMERS

Six minutes into the second half, the Stormers unleashed a devastating counter-attack that silenced the rabid crowd.

Even though it did not result in a try, the manner of the transition and ability to split the defence would have caused Toulon great concern. 

John Dobson rang the changes on the 50-minute mark, and the fresh legs led to some wonderful build-up play, which gave rise to the Stormers’ brand of running rugby.

A sumptuous dink over the top by the newly introduced Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu put Toulon on the back foot in the red zone, and from the subsequent phase, Evan Roos picked up and crashed over to give the visitors the lead for the first time.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu made no mistake with the conversion attempt as the Stormers went into a 20-14 lead, to a chorus of boo’s.

Toulon offered an immediate response, and it was a case of more of the same.

After not finding any joy around the fringes, Toulon spread the ball wide, which allowed Mathis Ferte to score. 

Albornoz converted the kick, giving Toulon a narrow lead of 21-20.

The game appeared to become more feisty as both teams seemed to up the ante, with the vocal crowd giving Toulon a boost.

Toulon exploited the Stormers’ defensive wide channels again as quick hands allowed left winger Setariki Tuicuvu to easily evade the last man for their fourth try of the game.

Once again, Albornoz made no mistake from the kicking tee, as Toulon increased the lead to eight points, 28-20.

The Stormers felt they scored when Ntuthuko Mchunu seemed to brush the try line, but the TMO ruled out the try. 

From the ensuing play, Toulouse infringed again, resulting in a yellow card to the home side – but the subsequent penalty saw the ball held up to massive applause from all associated with the home side. 

Imad Khan scored in the 78th minute with Feinberg-Mngomezulu scoring the conversion, just one point down with mere minutes left.

Despite being two men down, Toulon showed their experience and held on for victory as the Stormers fell short in Europe, but gave us a game to remember.