In what was originally billed as the return of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, Toulouse have headed into halftime of their Champions Cup quarter-final ten points up against their Parisian opponents, Racing 92.
The match has been an altogether slow occasion so far, with just a matter of key moments separating the two sides – including injuries to vital Racing 92 players, Siya Kolisi and Wame Naituvi. The Fijian winger, who joined the Parisian side from Pro D2 outfit Mont-de-Marsan ahead of the 2023/24 season, has been replaced by Gloucester bound Christian Wade on the wing.
Despite controlling the majority of the possession and appearing to have more threat on the go-forward, it’s been Racing 92 that have found themselves scoreless at the break.
Thought to have taken back the lead after an early Toulouse score, Racing 92 fullback Max Spring was proved to be held up over the line in what was originally given as a try by officials. Shortly after the conversion was taken, referee Karl Dickson had the ruling brought back to him by his TMO, which caused the score to be quickly crossed off.
Superbe action défensive de @jackswillis7 pour le @StadeToulousain qui annihile une attaque sublime du Racing 92! pic.twitter.com/mYVU3aHxwA
— Investec Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) April 7, 2024
With the match simmering along at a rather slow pace, commentators found themselves with little to talk about, and fans with even less to cheer about. In fact, the biggest cheer of the afternoon came when a fan plucked the ball out of air ‘like a cherry’ – to quote Ben Kay.
The tide started to turn during the 33rd minute when Toulouse scored a stunning length of the field team try. Check this out:
Les mecs, il faut savoir faire les passes, vous pouvez pas tous vous illustrer sur une action!!…
…ouais ou alors si faîtes comme vous voulez.@StadeToulousain pic.twitter.com/gJJFUNn54x
— Investec Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) April 7, 2024
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