Rain Man: British & Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton tries to evade the attentions of
Toulon’s Freddie Michalak in Cardiff’s memorable win over the Heineken Cup holders

by Paul Cook –

Cardiff Blues lit up the second round of this season’s Heineken Cup with a thrilling last gasp victory over the holders – and many people’s favourites to repeat that success – Toulon, 19-15 at Cardiff Arms Park.

Having disappointed in their opening round loss to Exeter Chiefs, the Blues were under pressure to restore some wounded pride and get themselves back into contention for a Quarter-Final spot but they faced a formidable challenge from a Toulon side who came into the game having racked up a half century of points the previous week against Pro-12 pacesetters Glasgow Warriors.

However, with the legendary Arms Park abuzz at the presence of the French giants, they produced a resilient effort to stare down a 12-6 deficit on the hour with Leigh Halfpenny’s mercurial boot getting them back into contention before a rampaging run from Gareth Davies in the 77th minute saw the replacement centre muscle his way over to record a famous victory.

Under fire coach Phil Davies cut an emotional figure at the final whistle and paid tribute to his side’s determination to right the wrongs from the previous match. “They were magnificent,” he enthused. “They played, they fronted up. It was a great victory against a very good team. It was a case of making sure we went to another level physically and emotionally. It was important for lots of reasons and it was great to get the win.”

What looked like a mere formality for Toulon in Pool Two after week one now sees all bets off as Glasgow regathered themselves from their defeat in the South of France last Sunday to down Exeter 20-16 back on home soil. Gregor Townsend’s side have now won six of their seven games this season and any team travelling to a fervent Scotstoun Stadium in this competition can expect the severest of tests.

Glasgow’s Niko Matawalu gets wrapped up by Exeter lock – and former Waratah and Wallaby
Dean Mumm – & co. during the Warriors 20-16 win over the Chiefs

Unfortunately, Glasgow’s near neighbours, Edinburgh, couldn’t match their compatriot’s achievements as they came back to earth with a bump after last week’s heroics against Munster. They travelled to the South of France to take on Perpignan, themselves surprise losers in week one at Gloucester and it was the home side who prospered at the Stade Aimé Giral, running out 31-14 winners off the back of four tries plus another 11pts from the boot of Welsh fly-half James Hook.

That bonus point win was enough to edge Perpignan to the top of Pool Six, a point ahead of Munster, who completed their own comeback mission after the shock defeat in Edinburgh seven days previously, to oust Gloucester 26-10 in front of 23,500 at Thomond Park.

Some 200 kilometres East in Dublin, Leinster had already cemented their first-up win away to Ospreys in Pool A, with victory over French champions Castres, forging a three point lead at the top of the ‘Pool of Death’ in the process. Behind them are Northampton Saints, who bagged their first win in the competition by piling on the misery for Ospreys in a 27-16 triumph. The Lions’ laden Welsh side have now left themselves a mountain to climb if they entertain any thoughts of progression beyond the pool stages.

If Cardiff’s win over Toulon was the result of the weekend, Ulster would have to be the side running them a close second. Their defeat of Montpellier in Pool 5 was not as great a bridging of quality as the Blues achieved, at least on paper, but the fact that they managed to do so in France, and by a score line of 25-8, makes it all the more impressive.

A try in the opening 10 minutes paved the way for the visitors and the trusty boot of Ruan Pienaar did the rest, the South African scrumhalf slotting 15pts of the boot in a performance that sends a warning shot to the rest of the competition that the 2012 runners-up could be set for another extended stay this season.

USA international Chris Wyles opens the scoring for Saracens against Toulouse but it couldn’t stop the visitors earning a vital victory in front of a record British crowd for a Heineken Cup pool match

Ulster now top Pool 5, two points ahead of Leicester Tigers, who rebounded from defeat in Belfast last week at the hands of the table-toppers with a predictably comfortable 34-3 win over Italian side Benetton Treviso. This pool could well come down to bonus points.

It wasn’t a good weekend for Italy all round, with Zebre being smashed by Connacht, 33-6 at home in Parma, in a game they would have targeted as their best possible chance of victory given the presence of Saracens and Toulouse alongside them in Pool 3.

Those two modern giants of the European game met in the heavyweight clash of the round on Friday night, in what was certainly the biggest, if not the best, game of the weekend. In front of 61,248 fans at Wembley Stadium – a British attendance record for a Heineken Cup pool match – an early try from USA flyer Chris Wyles gave Sarries the lead but the four-time champions fought back with two tries of their own and survived a last minute penalty attempt from Owen Farrell, to record a hugely significant 17-16 victory.

That just leaves Pool Four, where last season’s runners-up Clermont Auvergne, returned to winning ways with a 23-16 win over a gallant Harlequins at the Stade Marcel Michelin, gun French international centre Wesley Fofana among the tryscorers. However, Clermont remain third in the pool after Scarlets and Racing Métro 92 fought out a thrilling 26-all draw in South Wales on Saturday evening. Rhys Priestland and Jonny Sexton bagged 16pts apiece for their sides in a result that leaves Scarlets in pole position by dint of their better points differential.

All clubs now return to domestic duties for the next seven weeks before two pivotal weekends on December 6th/7th/8th and 13th/14th/15th when back-to-back fixtures between the same sides traditionally prove crucial in determining the final qualifying positions.

AS THEY STAND (Teams highlighted in red are in the current qualifying positions)

RESULTS:

Pool 1 – Leinster 19 Castres 7 / Northampton Saints 27 Ospreys 16

Pool 2 – Cardiff Blues 19 Toulon 15 / Glasgow Warriors 20 Exeter 16

Pool 3 – Saracens 16 Toulouse 17 / Zebre 6 Connacht 33

Pool 4 – Scarlets 26 Racing Métro 92 26 / ASM Clermont Auvergne 23 Harlequins 16

Pool 5 – Leicester Tigers 34 Benetton Treviso 3 / Montpellier 5 Ulster 28

Pool 6 – Munster 26 Gloucester 10 / Perpignan 31 Edinburgh 14

*******

ROUND THREE FIXTURES:

Friday 6th December

Pool 2 – Cardiff Blues v Glasgow Warriors

Pool 1 – Castres v Ospreys

Saturday 7th December

Pool 2 – Exeter v Toulon

Pool 3 – Zebre v Saracens

Pool 4 – ASM Clermont Auvergne v Scarlets

Pool 4 – Racing Métro 92 v Harlequins

Pool 1 – Northampton Saints v Leinster

Pool 5 – Ulster v Benetton Treviso

Sunday 8th December

Pool 6 – Munster v Perpignan

Pool 6 – Edinburgh v Gloucester

Pool 5 – Leicester Tigers v Montpellier

Pool 3 – Toulouse v Connacht