- Toulouse defeats Exeter in Champions Cup semifinals
- Exeter Chiefs overwhelmed by Toulouse’s relentless attack
- Premier League players like Kinghorn shine in France’s rugby
Completing significant elimination matches in France requires considerable effort, and two victories by England in consecutive days would have been truly remarkable. Despite holding an early 19-17 lead in the second half, Exeter knew a star-studded Toulouse side would prove too formidable, and that belief was confirmed as the hosts advanced to the Champions Cup semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.
Few opponents can contend with Antoine Dupont and company when they put forth their absolute effort. Although the Chiefs began the third quarter with a determined and fearsome attitude, they were ultimately overwhelmed by an overwhelming red tide, surrendering 28 points in just over 11 minutes. It was a disheartening end to the game. Even Harlequins, which were so valiant in Bordeaux on Saturday, will face formidable competition in the final four matches of this boiling crucible.
On this occasion, however, it was the imported abilities of Blair Kinghorn of Scotland and Jack Willis of England that benefited the Chiefs rather than the Gallic brilliance of Dupont and Romain Ntamack. Since moving from Edinburgh, Kinghorn has been utterly ecstatic with life; who wouldn’t be? He capped a solid all-around performance with two tries and 23 points. Willis additionally utilised the occasion to reacquaint specific individuals at home with his prowess by scoring the try in the first half, which assisted in thwarting Exeter’s initial optimism.
A brief sojourn in Toulouse is sufficient to comprehend the growing trend of Premier League players relocating to France. Thousands of supporters formed a boisterous guard of honour before kickoff for the sole purpose of cheering their idols to the locker rooms, indicating that Exeter would have a difficult time replicating the spectacular accomplishment that Quins had accomplished twenty-four hours earlier.
As their director of rugby, Rob Baxter, remarked afterwards, Toulouse is extremely difficult to halt once their off-loading game begins to click, and nine tries to two was likely a fair reflection of the financial, personnel, and experience-based disparity between the two teams in the championship game. Baxter acknowledged his squad was “chasing shadows” well before the end, and it will be even more difficult for them to recover in time to face a more rested Bath in the Premier League this weekend.
Exeter had aspired to replicate their emotional victory in the preliminary stages of this season against Toulon; however, the situation proved to be entirely different. The temperature was appropriately high, and the Toulouse team roster was absurdly abundant. The home crowd was appropriately anticipatory, given that their reserve included Julien Marchand, Thibaud Flament, and Thomas Ramos, all of whom were world-class French internationals.
It was therefore to the credit of a youthful Exeter squad that they were genuinely competitive for the first forty minutes, competing hard around the contact area and not initially making life easy for Toulouse’s superstars, except for a defensive error out wide that resulted in an early try for Ntamack.
Although the host side claimed Tom Cairns knocked on in the buildup, two penalties for Henry Slade and a bullocking try for Ethan Roots from a smart tap penalty routine near the line bolstered their cause. As local animosity escalated, Peato Mauvaka was also sin-binned, and although Kinghorn’s long-range penalty narrowed the gap, the Chiefs refused to retreat from the battle.
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Some of the Irish referee Chris Busby’s interpretations failed to impress the home crowd, but Exeter’s determination and character were indisputable; Daffyd Jenkins and Roots contributed significantly to the team’s progress. After Willis was again penalised for straying from his feet, Slade blocked an additional penalty to make the score 16-10, but the English flanker’s afternoon was about to take a sharp turn for the better. When the former Wasps forward received the ball, there did not appear to be much immediate danger. However, he intercepted Chiefs fly-half Harvey Skinner and dashed to score a try, which Kinghorn promptly converted to make the score 17-16.
Shortly after the resumption, Slade’s fourth penalty converted the score to 19-17, but the floodgates were about to open. As wave after wave of red shirts surged upfield, a fruit machine-like rotation of the scoreboard ensued. Pita Akhi, Juan Cruz Mallia, and Dupont all contributed two tries each. Pita Akhi and Paul Costes formed an outstanding midfield partnership, and Dupont outran Josh Hodge for the other. Aside from Zach Wimbush’s consolation attempt, the viewing experience became progressively more Ex-rated.
