Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Cardiff Blues beat Toulon to win the Amlin Challenge Cup
It was Toulon who started off the better side though, with midfield maestro Sonny Bill Williams weaving his magic and crossing for the first try of the match, taking the home side to a 13-6 lead.
The Blues mounted a strong second half comeback as Toulon seemed to struggle to deal with the loss of flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson to what looked like a back injury.
Speared by talisman Xavier Rush, Cardiff worked hard for their tries as they worked their way down field then finished well from close range. Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny, and Bradley Davies all scored as they silenced the partisan home crowd.
The Blues victory is not only a great achievement for them, but it means that fellow Welsh side the Scarlets are now guaranteed Heineken Cup qualification.
Toulon were left contemplating what could have been as they missed out so narrowly on two major trophies in the last few weeks. The loss of Wilkinson certainly hampered their cause, and the question now remains if he will be available for England selection.
He will receive an x-ray tomorrow for what he suspects is just a back strain that he picked up when making a jinking run, not when taking contact.
"Things will be much clearer after the scan and x-ray. If it is a muscle strain, he should be fine to tour with England. If it is a cracked rib, the chances are it would rule him out but at the moment it is all speculation," said Toulon team manager Tom Whitford.
The Sonny Bill Williams hit is now included as a separate, short video for those who don't want to watch the whole highlights package. It's the second one here.
Posted at 11:22 pm | 61 comments
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Viewing 61 comments
Benson May 25, 2010 9:58 pm

Anonymous May 25, 2010 10:15 pm

mat May 25, 2010 10:16 pm

miguel May 25, 2010 10:18 pm

not trying to be a troll, but lets just remember what things really are.
$onny May 25, 2010 10:19 pm

Anonymous May 25, 2010 10:54 pm

Maximus May 25, 2010 11:04 pm

I watched him and he seems to be a showman with the flick passes and celeb but on the whole he clearly adds some uncertainty to the attack. Surely, if he's being called back (if I'm not mistaken) by the NZRFU for a hypothetical AB shirt, he can't be that bad, can he?
Honest question and it'd be cool to try to help me understand.
Anonymous May 25, 2010 11:12 pm

Tom May 25, 2010 11:12 pm

In the NRL those 'flick passes' he does would be getting caught by players. Because league players tend to have better hands.
It's not his fault the blokes around him aren't on the same page.
He's a machine, it's just that most rugby coaches don't know how to use him.
He'll go much better in the S14 if he decides to take the challenge, because players have better skills and understand that keeping the ball alive is everything in modern attacking rugby, regardless of whether it's a 'flick pass' or a slow NH hospital ball.
Maximus May 25, 2010 11:16 pm

And let's remember that Toulon U21 won the U21 French Championship this year. So it's true they have 'imported talents' now but things might change soon...
jamestheconvict May 25, 2010 11:40 pm

cheyanqui May 25, 2010 11:58 pm

The "flick pass" in League -- When all you have to do is catch the pass, cover it with two hands and make the gainline.
In Union, simply covering the ball with two hands, like a gridiron fullback and running into contact, is less than ideal.
This is the difference between League and Union. One is checkers, the other is chess
AndyM May 26, 2010 12:13 am

What magical powers does he possess?
I recognize him as a solid player and apparently a good leader as well but what makes him the quintessential rugby talisman?
miguel May 26, 2010 12:13 am

my distaste for sonny bill has to do with the way he entered the game.
long story short, the guy should have been able to deliver upon arrival for all the fuss he caused in bailing on the bullldogs. he'll have to do alot to impress me and I'll make the call now that he wont. I doubt he heads back to new zealand, mostly because he behavior tells us he values money and stardom more than the identity behind the jersey.
i see him as a hired gun and not much of a fighter at that. if the ABs try to replace Nonu with him, its a huge insult to every hardworking 10/12 in this past super 14.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 12:27 am

It's not his fault the blokes around him aren't on the same page."
LOL, what a joke.
Seveal of those retarded passes went into open space, nowhere near another player. One of which was picked up by Roberts and almost led DIRECTLY to a try had it not been for some decent defending by SBW's team mates.
David May 26, 2010 4:56 am

David May 26, 2010 4:58 am

Xavier Rush can fly......I have seen it
FrankyH May 26, 2010 5:27 am

All he needs is a solid talking to about holding the ball in one hand and about decision making when it comes to offloading, and he'll be great in future. I finally saw a glimpse of the hype that surrounds the man.
Good game. Congrats Cardiff.
Tom May 26, 2010 6:18 am

You always hit with your shoulder, it's the only way to tackle properly.
The rule only states that a player has to make an attmept to get the arms round (in fact it simply says that the player has to make an attmept to "grasp" the player, no more). There's nothing about wrapping (which is why people calling it the wrapping rule or wrap rule is stupid).
If you've played you know why the rule is that way, it's to prevent league style shoulder charges, which is when a player tucks their arms up across their chest and runs in side on.
If you've ever been taught how to tackle by someone who has even the vaugest idea what he's doing, they will teach you to lead with your shoulder and then use the arms to grasp, it's the only way to stop a decent (or large) runner.
I can't beleive how many times this has had to be explained on this website though.
Unbelievable how many people don't know the rules.
4LC4TR4Z May 26, 2010 6:20 am

Probably one of those new supporters jumping and shouting crap like these stupids soccer fans during a game.
SBW overrated ? Sure... This must be the reason why Graham Henry's trying to lure him for the AB for months.
LOL !
You should learn rugby, Miguel...
Tom May 26, 2010 6:36 am

In league, protecting the ball is not as significant.
The thing is though, even players in the S14 tend to have better skills, including better hands, and just a general awarness of keeping the ball alive.
There'd be someone on SBW's shoulder more often.
Jarrod May 26, 2010 6:45 am

Anonymous May 26, 2010 6:52 am

Anonymous May 26, 2010 6:55 am

Refs only call the major infirngments which they deem to have affected play.
Also European refs (since the crackdown in the south) tend to let alot more stuff go at ruck time than southern refs.
I personally hate how many infringments there are at ruck time in Europe, it ruins the game as a spectacle and kills running rugby. It is changing though, in the second half of this season refs have started to enforce the ruck more and it's improving the game up north.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 8:16 am

One overriding memory I have of the game is that of SBW not even attempting to wrap the arms and hitting Jamie Roberts after the ball had gone. A penalty by the laws of the game, not for a late hit but the fact he didn't attempt to use arms.
From what I have seen it seems (of rugby in general) NH players tend to wrap more in tackles (obviously there are exceptions) and use less of the shoulder. While SH players use the shoulder a lot more when making the tackle, this tends to lead to more of what some call questionable tackles.
I am not saying all SH tackles are bad, by and large they are clean. Neither am I saying that this is a general consensus, I think it might be down to basic coaching.
When I was first taught to tackle in rugby it was to wrap around the legs and fall sideways with your head on their arse.
I then played American football for 2 years and the tackling there was more about standing your ground and using your shoulder. Now I try and use a combination of the two depending on the size of the guy.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 8:36 am

Pretty good game that, although it didn't seem to have the same pace as the toulon-clermont game.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 9:42 am

All in all Cardiff deserved it for playing an 80 minute game.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 11:00 am

Anonymous May 26, 2010 11:02 am

Anonymous May 26, 2010 11:05 am

Colin May 26, 2010 12:23 pm

John F May 26, 2010 12:52 pm

As for why Rush is a talisman? His carries always seem to give Cardiff momentum, lift the crowd and he's one of the players that has contributed to the Cardiff revival since 2006. Great signing for them.
All of Cardiff's kiwis had great games. Laulala has been another great signing.
SBW's ability to stay on his feet in the tackle was shown in this game. Risky passes by nice hands in general.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 2:14 pm

BUT.. . . He could be world class in the right hands.
miguel May 26, 2010 3:31 pm

I could be wrong, I thought Giteau would win the tri nations for the wallabies and look how that went.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 4:33 pm

Wilkinson pulled a sicky by the looks of it? Made one run and got absolutely hammered mind..
themull May 26, 2010 4:38 pm

Very good exciting game....I feel though Johnny getting injured was the turning point for the blues...
Alex May 26, 2010 5:59 pm

He reminds me of Andy Farrel, not so much in ability, as they were different players, but that he is one of those physical specimens that thrive so well in League, but are often hard to fit into a Union team.
Anonymous May 26, 2010 6:12 pm

the shirts of the two teams are just horrible."
Who let Gok Wan in?
Phil May 26, 2010 8:51 pm

mise May 26, 2010 10:21 pm

Esp as he seemed so good in the Clermont game.
Also there was accidental crossing for the 2nd Cardiff try early on in the move - the kind that usually gets called.
Re SBW: the Top of the Top 14 and the team he's in are both quite SH in style anyway, esp this time of year. Give him another year at the top of the Top 14 in France, and he'll probably shine.
And the commentator: bucking eh? really doesn't sound like bucking but maybe it is.....
mise May 26, 2010 10:23 pm

Jim May 26, 2010 10:45 pm

He can always get a ball away in a tackle, and that's an incredibly valuable skill for a rugby player on a team that has the skills to play an up-tempo game.
He'll be suited to the S14 more than the more dour style of European rugby, where what a SH player would deem as simply playing good rugby is deemed 'risky' or 'too flashy'.
mise May 26, 2010 11:11 pm

U can't presume that the Top 14 and the NH are one and the same thing, style-wise. They ain't.
Only in the depths of winter does the mud slow down the frogs a bit, and even then there's still more running rugby in France than elsewhere in the NH.
he's adapting to a new game, give him a year... and sometimes a bad pass is a bad pass...
Anonymous May 27, 2010 2:44 am

Anonymous May 27, 2010 2:45 am

Jim May 27, 2010 3:04 am

Moreso than other NH comps I've watched like the GP or most Magners League stuff, but not nearly as much as S14.
In S14 SBW would be rewarded for his ability to get passes away in every tackle, there'd be someone there on his shoulder to continue the move.
And it doesn't matter what a pass looks like, flick pass, backhander, perfect spiral, whatever, as long as someone has the ability to catch it that's all that counts.
Flooz May 27, 2010 11:00 am

It's apity because they had completly dominated and animated this match.
Cardiff was more clinical and score on their few chances, congrats for that.
Toulon is learning the top-level after their defeat against Clermont.
But they really show they weren't a bench of mercenaries like a lot are saying. They played with heart. St Andre will have to work on the match gestion, and then, they'll be a threatening team next year in top 14 and Hcup
Pilou May 27, 2010 11:28 am

Even though Cardiff deserves the Amlin Cup for playing 80 minutes, I still feel Toulon lost the match rather than Cardiff won it.
Greiffel May 27, 2010 11:38 am

flashrules May 27, 2010 4:42 pm

Conor May 27, 2010 7:15 pm

Also everyone is giving out about SBW but not one has commented on his try which was no easy try to score.
jim May 28, 2010 2:33 am

It must be tough for him to have guys around him who can't play passing rugby.
FPS May 28, 2010 3:21 am

SBW's was an individual effort and he smashed the bloke.
I can't believe people like Miguel, saying SBW isn't that good.
Did you miss that try he scored.
See how no tackle was made, that's cuz he knows how to play attacking rugby, unlike the average NH player. If that try had been in the S14 you'd hear people crying about bad defence, without realising it's just what happens when you have players who can attack.
rosh June 04, 2010 10:48 am

Anonymous July 07, 2010 3:54 am
















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