Heineken Cup Analysis,
Toulon, Claremont Auvergne, Rugby 2013, Aviva Stadium
Toulon 16 Clermont Auvergne
15: Did Clermont Auvergne freeze once again in sight of the winning post?
That’s the accusation they’ll face as they contrived to lose a match they
should have won.
They played the better rugby
for most of the game but that’ll be of little consolation as the Heineken Cup
will be returning to France with Toulon.
Clermont looked far more
dangerous in possession and if they managed to introduce a little more
composure and precision, especially in the Toulon 22, might have won this match
in a canter.
They will also rue the fact
that they gave away too many penalties, failing to react to Alain Rolland’s
officiating at ruck time. It cost them possession and position and acted as a
safety valve in allowing Toulon to escape from their own 22.
The latter took their
chances, or more accurately the one try scoring opportunity that presented
itself, and otherwise relied on the boot of their captain Jonny Wilkinson.
Toulon, Mathieu Bastareaud was superb in attack and defence, showed grit and character
but it shouldn’t have been enough to suffice.
The opening 40 minutes was
conducted principally between the two 22-metre lines, a series of collisions
where players from both sides sought out each other rather than space. The
honourable exceptions were Clermont winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and centre Wesley
Fofana, whose footwork, pace and angles of running allowed them to make several
line breaks.
Unfortunately their
colleagues couldn’t sustain the momentum, sometimes it was handling, on other
occasions they fell foul of referee Rolland, who penalised them a handful of
times for not releasing after the tackle. Fofana is a pleasure to watch, his
gliding acceleration and appreciation of angles a constant threat to the
opposition defence.
The closest Clermont came to
scoring a try in that period came when Toulon wing Rudi Wulf was turned over by
Sivivatu at a ruck on the halfway line. Fofana and Julienn Bonnaire combined to
put Brock James scampering up the touchline. The Australian chipped over the
top and outpaced Toulon’s Chris Masoe and Juan Fernandez Lobbe but the
dead-ball line won the race by a nanosecond as James grounded it on the
whitewash.
Toulon huffed and puffed but
there was precious little subtlety to their patterns and they chose Wilkinson’s
boot as their main attacking gambit.
Clermont scrumhalf Morgan
Parra kicked a penalty on three minutes and Wilkinson responded in kind after
12 to provide the only tangible rewards in scoring terms.
Clermont lost a great
attacking position following a break by Sivivatu when Lee Byrne was penalised
for not releasing, but Mathieu Bastareaud, who made the tackle certainly didn’t
release the player, before trying to secure possession. There were two
offences, the second one spotted first.
After Fofana had snaffled
yardage on one touchline, Clermont moved play to the other side of the pitch.
Rougerie fended off Danie Rossouw rather easily and released Napolioni Nalaga.
The big Fijian brushed off the tackle of Sebastien Tillous Borde and through
another attempt from Armitage to score in the corner; it was a great finish.
Parra couldn’t add the conversion, and although Wilkinson reduced the deficit
with a penalty, the favourites Clermont crossed for their second try.
Rougerie was again the catalyst,
muscling Wilkinson aside as he raced on to a gorgeously weighted chip from
James. He rode a weak tackle from Tillous Borde and released the supporting
James, who covered the final 20 metres to the try line. Parra added the
conversion and at 15-6 Clermont were within touching distance of winning a
tournament their rugby merited; and not just this season.
But they continued to
transgress at ruck time, the penalty count 5-0 at this stage, and when they
were penalised again on 60 minutes, Wilkinson reduced the deficit to six
points.
The one question mark that
has lingered about this Clermont team is whether they have the mental capacity
to keep playing to the final whistle. The game’s pivotal moment arrived on 63
minutes when Lobbe turned over the ball at a ruck after Fofana had been
isolated in the tackle.
The Argentinean’s overhead
pass to Armitage sent the England international racing clear and he could enjoy
a mini-celebration before dotting down. Wilkinson kicked an excellent
conversion and Toulon, remarkably, were in front.
It was the first try they
have scored in the knock-out stages of this season’s tournament.
Clermont’s resolve was to
face an acid test but as Parra, Rougerie and James headed for the sideline,
leadership and composure went with them. They did manage to get field position
in the dying throes of the contest, twice, but replacement David Skrela
bizarrely went into rucks when he should have been dropping into the pocket to
attempt a drop goal.
They had the field position
inside the Toulon 22 but it wasn’t until they were a little further out that
the drop goal was attempted and charged down. The game ended with a forward
pass and a handling error on the touchline 10 metres from the Toulon line.
They deserve credit for the
manner in which they hung in a game that appeared at various stages of the
second half to be disappearing over the horizon.
It offered a reminder that
if a team can stay on Clermont’s coat-tails they may be occasionally rewarded.
It was a day when the a team rightly considered the best in Europe, could not
deliver on that label.
Scoring sequence 3 mins:
Parra penalty, 3-0; 12: Wilkinson penalty, 3-3. Half-time: 3-3. 41: Nalaga try,
8-3; 45: Wilkinson penalty, 8-6; 47: James try, conversion, 15-8; 60: Wilkinson
penalty, 15-9; 64: Armitage try, Wilkinson conversion, 15-16.
Clermont Auvergne: L Byrne;
S Sivivatu, A Rougerie (capt), W Fofana, N Nalaga; B James, M Parra; T Domingo,
B Kayser, D Zirakashvili; N Hines, J Cudmore; J Bonnaire, G Vosloo, D Chouly.
Replacements: V Debaty for Domingo 65 mins; Ti Paulo for Bruno 65 mins; J Bardy
for Vosloo 67 mins; R King for Rougerie 67 mins; L Radosavijevic for Parra 71
mins; D Skrela for James 73 mins; C Ric for Zirakashvili 73 mins.
Toulon: D Armitage; R Wulf,
M Bastareaud, M Giteau, A Palisson; J Wilkinson (capt), S Tilous Borde; A
Sheridan, S Bruno, C Hayman; B Botha, N Kennedy; D Rossouw, J Fernandez Lobbe,
C Masoe. Replacements: J van Niekerk for Rossouw 50 mins; F Michalak for
Tillous Borde 50 mins; JC Orioli for Bruno 50 mins; G Jenkins for Sheridan 61
mins; J Suta for Botha 67 mins; S Armitage for Masoe 67 mins; D Kubriashvili for
Hayman 76 mins. Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).