Leicester rally to defeat Toulon in European Champions Cup

Leicester 25 Toulon 21

Leicester came from behind to defeat the European Cup holders and remain in a group that could still go one of four ways. They will need to get something out of Saturday's return on the Mediterranean to give themselves a realistic chance of making the knockout stage given that the team finishing second is unlikely to have enough points to qualify as one of the best runners-up.

Leicester were as close to full strength as they had been all season, but in the continued absence of Manu Tuilagi, Ed Slater and Logovi'i Mulipola, they lacked the ball-carriers to threaten the gainline. After taking a 13-point lead after 18 minutes, they surrendered the initiative by taking risks some way behind the advantage line and rousing Toulon from their early torpor.

The Tigers had their favoured front row in residence for the first time this season with Dan Cole and Tom Youngs fit again and they earned their first penalty from a scrum on nine minutes. The former Leicester prop Martin Castrogiovanni was making his first return to the club where he spent seven years before moving to France in 2013 and it looked a decision based on sentiment rather than merit as Marcos Ayerza got stuck into his former team-mate.

Owen Williams’s second penalty followed a decision by the television match official, Gareth Simmonds, that Castrogiovanni had not only taken out an opponent at a breakdown off the ball but that he had done so some time after the whistle had blown.

Toulon, who were looking to become only the fifth team to win a 10th successive match in the European Cup, struggled to match the early pace set by their hosts, perhaps not surprisingly given their pack had an average age of 32, but they were also slapdash.

Mathew Tait's kick downfield on 18 minutes looked to be too far, but the Australia wing Drew Mitchell took so long to bend down and attempt a pick-up only to fumble the ball that Youngs beat him to it and slipped the ball to the second row Brad Thorn who only had to take the pass to score his first try for the Tigers since arriving in September.

Expensive outfit

The most expensively assembled team in Europe looked more like dodgy self-assembly kit from a cheap furniture store, but Leicester started to get carried away by the strong start they had made, running from deep and making mistakes. Toulon had scored their first points through a Nicolas Sanchez penalty when the Tigers lost the ball on halfway.

Steffon Armitage hacked the ball on and looked like being the first to it as it rolled into the home 22 before Ben Youngs arrived to foil the flanker. Williams, who scored 20 points through six penalties out of eight and a conversion, was named the man of the match, but it was Youngs who, more than anyone, prevented his side from splintering after Bryan Habana had drawn Toulon level with an opportunist try six minutes before the break.

Williams was standing just inside Toulon’s half when he threw a long pass to Graham Kitchener. The ball bounced some way short of the second row and Habana pounced, somehow keeping his balance as he scooped up the ball, and despite a stutter or three he easily outpaced Blaine Scully and was able to present Sanchez with a routine conversion.

Williams miss Williams missed a penalty either side of Habana's try and Leicester faced a test not just of their resolve in a season in which they have suffered poor defeats but confidence. It was Youngs who showed them the way: a year ago, he was struggling to find his form and lost his place in the England 23, but here he was outstanding in defence and attack, causing the Toulon back row consternation by exploiting gaps and never wasting an opportunity to lift the pace of the game. After Williams had restored Leicester's lead with a penalty five minutes after the restart, Leicester lost a scrum on their own 22 and Sebastien Tillous-Borde quickly broke on the blindside, drawing Vereniki Goneva and freeing Mitchell who gave Toulon the lead for the first time. It lasted eight minutes before Williams kicked his fourth penalty. Two more followed with Sanchez replying once, and although the Tigers messed up a scrum at the end of the match when they just needed to kick the ball dead, Mathieu Bastareaud knocked on.

After the match, Castrogiovanni launched an expletive-laden tirade against Leicester’s director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, saying he was forced out of the club two seasons ago and accusing his former coach of talking too much.

"He accused me of leaving for money, but nothing could be less true," said the Italy prop. "I used to love the club, but he makes me angry." – Guardian Service
LEICESTER: Tait, Scully, Smith, Allen, Goneva, O. Williams, B. Youngs, Ayerza, T. Youngs, Cole, Thorn, Kitchener, Gibson, Salvi, Crane. Replacements: Harrison for B Youngs (80 mins), Ghiraldini for T Youngs (59 mins), Parling for Kitchener (59 mins), Barbieri for Crane (59 mins).
TOULON: D. Armitage, Mitchell, Bastareaud, Mermoz, Habana, Sanchez, Tillous-Borde, Chiocci, Guirado, Castrogiovanni, Botha, Williams, Gordodze, S. Armitage, Masoe, Taofifenua. Replacements: Escande for Sanchez (55 mins), Fresia for Chiocci (58 mins), Orioli for Guirado (71 mins), Hayman for Castrogiovanni (52 mins), Taofifenua for Botha (58 mins), J Smith for Gordodze (68 mins), Suta for Taofifenua (72 mins).
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).