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Sam Warburton admits Cardiff Blues must 'restore pride' against cup holders Toulon following their losing start to the Heineken Cup. - 18/10/2013 14:28
Sam Warburton admits Cardiff Blues must ‘restore pride’ against cup holders Toulon following their losing start to the Heineken Cup.
The Welsh region conceded five tries in the first half of their opening game at Exeter Chiefs. The scale of the defeat saw former Wales and Pontypridd No8 Dale McIntosh replace Rob Powell as defence coach this week.
Blues recovered to show of their attacking potential with four tries in the second half, including one for British Lion Alex Cuthbert, to salvage a consolation bonus point.
And captain Sam Warburton insists taking on the reigning European champions is the ideal opportunity to prove a point. Warburton said: “It's important we bounce back from that loss and restore some pride.
“Many players worked hard for this club to gain a good reputation and proud history in Europe and now it's up to us to live up to the club's name.
“I would rather do that against a top quality team like Toulouse than opposition where we are expected to win by a mile. No one will give us a chance against the champions but it's an exciting challenge.”
Cardiff prop Gethin Jenkins will know all about their opponents having lifted the Heineken Cup with Toulon in May before returning to the Arms Park in the summer.
Toulon won 22-14 in Cardiff on their way to winning that trophy and kicked-off the defence of their title with an impressive 51-28 victory over Glasgow Warriors.
Cardiff's Josh Navidi made more tackles (19)than any other player on the opening weekend of the Heineken Cup and is set for another busy afternoon. Maxime Mermoz and Matt Giteau both crossed twice against Glasgow while Delon Armitage and Chris Masoe ensured maximum points for the French club.
Match Facts
- These sides met in the pool stage last year with Toulon picking up wins in both clashes.
- Cardiff’s Josh Navidi was the top tackler in Round 1 of this season’s Heineken Cup, making 19 tackles in total.
- Cardiff have a win rate of 39% against French clubs – their poorest rate against any nation (P38 W15 D1 L22).
- Toulon have won five of their seven matches outside of France in the Heineken Cup (including the 2013 final at the Aviva Stadium).
European club rugby has been in hibernation for the month of November so we have compiled just a few highlights from Round 2 to get you ready for the back-to-back fixtures. - 28/11/2013 15:20
Cardiff Blues stunned Heineken Cup champions Toulon with a shock win at the Arms Park. Replacement outside alf Gareth Davies stepped off the bench to score the winning try three minutes from time.
Leigh Halfpenny converted to add to his earlier penalties after Rhys Patchell’s early penalty. Toulon responded with five penalties by Jonny Wilkinson but the holders could not muster a late winner in a thrilling finale.
Cardiff, desperate to make amends from their opening loss at Exeter, were forced into a late change when captain Matthew Rees came down ill overnight. But while the Arms Park’s plastic pitch stood up to the driving rain, the players stood up to the champions in a stop-start first half that ended all square at 6-6.
Patchell opened the scoring with a huge 60-metre kick from inside Cardiff’s own half inside just four minutes. That lifted the home crowd and the team as Cardiff’s young backs broke free. Harry Robinson skipped past four tackles before Owen Williams was caught out wide while Robin Copeland also made a half-break.
Yet it was Toulon who thought they had snatched the first try on 18 minutes. Josua Tuisova burst down the right and then won the foot-race to Steffon Armitage’s kick ahead but his pass was judged forward and the try was ruled out.
Instead it was left to the trusty left-boot of Wilkinson who kicked Toulon 6-3 ahead until Halfpenny equalised two minutes before half-time. Toulon changed their entire front-row at the interval, including the arrival of former All Black Carl Hayman, as they looked to flex their muscles up front.
Wilkinson chipped away with a further two kicks, either side of a rare miss. Yet amid a catalogue of mistakes by both teams, Halfpenny kicked two penalties to level the scores 12-12 before he was penalised for a late tackle on Tuisova and Wilkinson nudged Toulon back in front.
Cardiff threw caution to the wind and after Cory Allen beat four defenders, Davies darted between Maxime Mermoz and Wilkinson before riding Frederic Michalak’s last-ditch tackle.
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