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Sergio Parisse try earns Toulon victory in hard-fought battle with Scarlets
Sergio Parisse scored the try that broke the hearts of the Scarlets and condemned them to yet another defeat in Toulon as they fell to a third defeat on French soil in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup.
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The Italian great had seen a try in the first half chalked off because of an earlier forward pass, but there was no denying him when he popped up on the end of a five-man raid launched by replacement Louis Carbonel in the 56th minute to give the home side the lead for the first time.
The 11-6 victory earned Toulon a home clash with Leicester in the semi-finals after the English side’s quarter-final with Castres Olympique was cancelled due to three French players testing positive for Covid-19. That earned the Tigers a bye in the last four.
Skipper Ken Owens led by example for the Scarlets as he secured a breakdown turnover in the third minute to give Leigh Halfpenny a shot at goal against his former club from a metre inside the home half.
He hit the target and that was one of only two scores in a tight yet absorbing first half.
Toulon threw the kitchen sink at their visitors and it looked as though full-back Daniel Ikpefan had to score in the 14th minute until his opposite number Halfpenny felled him with a fantastic tackle to bring him down a few metres short.
It looked as though Toulon had conjured up the first try of the night 10 minutes later when Jake Ball lost the ball on the charge and Parisse flipped the loose ball between his legs to find Ikpefan in his own 22.
The full-back went charging up field and launched a move that saw lock Swan Rebbadj, flanker Charles Ollivon carry on before Parisse arrived to finish off over the Scarlets’ line.
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Referee Andrew Brace signalled a try, but the French TMO alerted him to a forward pass in the build up and the score was ruled out.
That was a huge relief for the visitors, who enjoyed a purple patch at the end of the first half.
Romain Taofifenua took out Gareth Davies off the ball and up stepped Halfpenny to double the lead with a simple 30-metre kick. Baptiste Serin missed from 45 metres shortly afterwards for Toulon.
That meant the Scarlets led 6-0 at the break and they could have stretched their advantage three minutes into the second half when Halfpenny was given a 40-metre shot for a deliberate knock-on.
However, this time he let his old team-mates off the hook.
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Carbonel got Toulon on the board with a 53rd-minute penalty and then added another in the 70th minute after inspiring the Parisse try.
The Scarlets lost Halfpenny to an head injury assessment late in the game and then saw Wales wing Johnny McNicholl pick up a bad ankle injury.
They almost snatched a late try from a driving line-out but Tyler Morgan lost the ball as he went over the line.
Comments on RugbyPass
Rest is for namby pamby sissies, I see. True men should overcome their trifling injuries by playing week in, week out. Bidwell’s stance reminds me of a Jon Gadsby character from the 70s, a rugby captain giving an after-match speech: “It was a very physical contest. One of our players caught a boot on the back of his head in a ruck, and he died, actually. But to his credit, he played on.”
1 Go to commentsI still see nothing in Sotutus play that hes changed his upright running style that failed so many times against decent international defences like the french. Other than that… Iose? Well you have covered his limitations well. If Sititi had been playing the the season… Jacobson? Grace?…Neither shout pick me. So Ardie it is.
1 Go to commentsThere isn’t one element you mentioned there that every top class or successful team gets up to. The great All blacks sides used to play on the ‘fringes or edge’ but it was essentially saying they were doing something illegal or borderline to gain dominance. The fine margins at the top are minute between the top sides. La Rochelle, the crusaders, Saracens, Toulon etc etc…..have all been accused. Get over it, the comment comes across as salty and naive. Northampton as well as they played to get back into the match were thoroughly beaten and controlled for 60 minutes and Leinster have only themselves to blame for kicking it away and hence losing control of the match and being nearly the architects of their own downfall.
2 Go to commentsThere is some talent coming thru thats for sure. The 10 looks special to me. Rico Simpson is a name to look for in the future.
1 Go to commentsI think this quiet honestly is just an innocent misunderstanding by someone who is pig sh*t stupid. Eben is a fine player but by christ, if he can’t understand or get what the Irish players were trying to say to him after the match…..well i hope he has someone looking after his finances, career and is reading the fine print for him, cause life after rugby may be quite difficult for the vacuous echo chamber.
27 Go to commentsIt could be Doris' day!
3 Go to commentsThe whole thing has blown up because Eben’s words have clearly struck a nerve in Ireland. Otherwise they would just laugh it off. I think some former Irish players, commentators and some Irish fans know deep down this Ireland team started to believe its own press and that a certain amount of arrogance had started to creep in during the World Cup. The topic was actually brought up by Irish pundits on Off the Ball recently. It’s fine to be arrogant if you can back it up. Ireland didn’t.
27 Go to comments‘The Irish are good people'. Why is Goode praising a people who hate his own? Wet wipe.
27 Go to commentsLa mejor final que se puede ver en el emisferio norte.
1 Go to commentsA lot of cope from south africans in the comments. Etzebeth is a liar and a hypocrite; you don’t have to defend him!
27 Go to commentsHe got big and really slow for a flyhalf…not sure he’s relevant in a bok conversation anymore
4 Go to commentsBest tourney team vs best team in the regular season for 3 games in RSA - talk is cheap, let’s see what’s what on the tour
27 Go to commentsOne overlooked statistic from their 2016 winning season is the Huricanes are still the only team in Super rugby history not to concede a try during the playoff rounds.
4 Go to commentsThanks for the article, Nick. The Nienaber blitz D does ask a lot of its scrumhalf. I have been watching JGP on D and he often looks like he has mastered what Nienaber asks for better than Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach! 🤣 Impressive season by JGP if I must make an understatement.
22 Go to commentsOkay last one. I promise. I think it’s despicable for Andy Goode to suggest that Eben can’t count to 12. To be fair he only had to count to 8 - the number of Irishmen who DIDN’T say that. Less the 3 kiwis of course. 23 - 12 - 3 = 8. See Joe. I can do maffs.
27 Go to commentsCheers, Nick! How do you see the Reds’ Jock Campbell’s play this year? Not as strong a carrier as Andrew Kellaway or Tom Wright, but does avoid errors. Do you see Joe Schmidt as wanting safety first at 15 or a try-assisting counterattacker?
91 Go to commentsI’m sure this was all just a big misunderstanding. Irishmen and Afrikaaners conversing in a noisey stadium. Not easy to get the right messages across. A minefield.
27 Go to commentsSay what you will about Andy Goode. But he is right about one thing… I’m not sure what that one thing is exactly… but I’m willing to hear him out.
27 Go to commentsAnother article to bait and trigger Irish fans. This must stop.
27 Go to commentsHi Nick. Thanks for your +++ ongoing analysis. Re Vunivalu, He’s been benched recently and it will be interesting to see what Kiss does with him as we enter the backend of SRP. I’m still not sold.
91 Go to comments