Bastareaud revels in the sweet afterglow of Toulon’s achievement

The smile is never far away from Mathieu Bastareaud's lips, whether indulging in some badinage at the post match press conference or simply marshalling his own thoughts while others offer theirs by way of a playing insight into Toulon's victory in the Heineken Cup final.

A shy, if engaging presence, there is natural warmth to the way he answers questions, slightly at odds with his gargantuan frame.

Appearances are deceptive, at least off the pitch.

It’s a far cry from 2009 when he was involved in an incident in Wellington, New Zealand that subsequently became known as ‘l’affaire Bastareaud,’ where he lied about being mugged to cover up a fractured eye socket.

French prime minister Francois Fillon sent an apology to his New Zealand counterpart John Key following the furore it caused.

Bastareaud was handed a three-month suspension and ordered to perform community service (TIG) to help young children with an interest in playing rugby.

The 20-year-old, as he was at that time, struggled to handle the fallout, expressing his shame and deep remorse, and according to reports trying to commit suicide by throwing himself in the river Seine.

So to see him smile, to see him produce a level of performance that deservedly earned the man of the match accolade at the Aviva stadium, is a twin celebration for the person and the player.

There is little doubt his move from Stade Francais to Toulon facilitated the process, a fact he touched on indirectly in answering how he felt after the match.

“We fought for 80 minutes, we gave everything. It’s huge to win a title with this team, this group of friends. Before the game, nobody thought we could do it. It’s beautiful.

“We knew it would be physically taxing but we held our nerve, showed we had the guts. I came here to experience moments like that.”

Bastareaud, sporting a black t-shirt like most of his team-mates, emblazoned with the words “Toulon Champions”, – ran up impressive statistics. He led his team’s tackle count with 17, was second in the list for most metres gained (47) by a Toulon player, and third when it came to his team’s ball carrying numbers (six) behind number eight Chris Masoe and fullback and match-winning try scorer Delon Armitage.

There was more to Bastareaud’s contribution than figures in a playing ledger. There were nuances to the way he played, some subtlety in his ball poaching, but less subtlety in the way he swatted tacklers aside or simply dunted them aside.

He also blocked down Clermont Auvergne replacement David Skrela’s attempted drop goal in the dying throes of the contest.

The Toulon centre though prefaced his remarks by saying he thought himself responsible for Clermont's first try by not sliding quickly enough to the outside. He explained the drop goal moment: "First, I tried not to be offside, to remain well behind the ruck and be careful not to be penalised.

It was a relief
"There was Jonny (Wilkinson) next to me. I knew I was on the track (of the ball) and I thought 'phew'. It was a relief but then we had to get back on the road very quickly, because the game was not over.

“Countering the drop, was only one of several important moments in the game. I can not mention them all but when we were five metres from our line and had to tackle and tackle again and again, we held out. We gave everything. I loved this solidarity.”

He pointed to Wilkinson’s rallying call under their own posts after they had conceded a second try in the first seven minutes after the interval.

“Jonny spoke very calmly. This is where I thought it was possible. I looked around and I saw guys, world champions, European champions, guys who had experience of turnarounds in matches.”

Toulon have little time for celebration as they face Toulouse in the Top 14 semi-final in Nantes on Friday.

Bastareaud lamented the opportunity to fully relax: “It’s a little frustrating not being able to celebrate anything with our supporters.

“But we know that the semi-final comes quickly. We will enjoy this success, but on Monday, we will switch our focus to the Top 14. We have a chance to create history. Nobody thought at 15-6 to Clermont, we would be champions of Europe.”