Following Toulouse’s 43-40 win over Exeter Chiefs at the Stadium de Toulouse, here is our take on the key winners and losers from an epic Champions Cup clash.
Winners
Theo Ntamack
It took a lot to be the best player on the pitch in what was by far the best game of the weekend thus far, but that’s exactly what Theo Ntamack was on Sunday. He was simply immense all afternoon, acting as a proper battering ram to get Toulouse firing.
His powerful carries, particularly off the base of the scrum, just saw Les Rouge et le Noir charge up the pitch and into broken field, which in-turn brought their exciting attack into play in much better spaces.
Around that, he was frighteningly strong in the contact, propelling through collisions like he had jet-boosted boots and posting a whopping 62 metres from his 14 carries. He stepped up well in defence as well, ending his shift with 11 tackles for good measure.
This was some display from the powerhouse forward, who stepped up for his side in a big way.
Scrum-halves
A right old day for number nines, with Stephen Varney and Antoine Dupont enjoying a proper ding-dong. It seemed like they were feeding off one another across the 80, challenging each other to play to their absolute maximum and getting their teams chucking around some gorgeous rugby along the way.
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Their styles were very different, too; Dupont’s traditional flashes of brilliance around the park saw Toulouse play in spaces that had only just appeared, while Varney’s control of the attack from scrum-half saw Exeter really grow into the game.
Around their playmaking work, they both offered a threat ball-in-hand, which only added to their individual battle. This was a fine day of ‘scrum-halfery’, and one that any aspiring nine should watch and make notes from. Sensational stuff from the pair of them.
Will Butt
He has been building nicely as the weeks have gone by in his new colours, but this was a real statement display. Looked immensely powerful through the midfield channels, often floating between them in a fluid combination with Henry Slade, and consistently found himself charging through gaps in the Toulouse line as a result. His try was a nice reward for his efforts.
His move to the Chiefs from Bath felt like a way to get back into the England picture after sliding down the ranks, and a display like this against the Galacticos of Toulouse should do exactly that. Steve Borthwick would have been watching with interested eyes.
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Champions Cup
What an absolute humdinger of a Champions Cup game. It was a feast of gluttony for rugby fans, where you could gorge on pretty much every aspect of the contest.
The scrum battle was immense, the breakdown contest was intense and the flurry of attacking rugby should have been restricted to an 18+ website.
The points tallies will scare defence coaches, once more, but it wasn’t the chaos we have come to expect from the PREM; it wasn’t an 18-try game; it was two teams forcing the best out of each other and it told in a combined 83 points and only three points splitting the sides.
It was Champions Cup rugby at its absolute best, the sport of rugby union at its absolute best.
Losers
Rodrigue Neti
It’s rare that a player is handed a permanent red card in the era of the 20-minute version, but that’s what Rodrigue Neti was shown after a nasty high tackle on Ross Vintcent. Luckily, his team got him out of jail with the win, but it was mighty close.
Sin-binned backs
Cards were certainly a theme across the afternoon, with both Ben Hammersley and Teddy Thomas seeing yellow for indiscretions. With Thomas off the pitch, Exeter bagged 19 points. Hammersley’s absence then saw Toulouse grab their all-important score to regain the lead late on. Both players went pretty well while they were on, but their yellow cards both proved costly.
Toulouse centres
Not a great afternoon for Toulouse’s midfielders, with both Santi Chocobares and Tommaso Menoncello picking up injuries. Los Pumas ace Chocobares came off part-way through the first-half with a head knock and later failed his HIA, while Italian international Menoncello was withdrawn with an arm injury. Hopefully the pair can make a speedy recovery.
Exeter wingers
Another area where the starters came off, with both Tommy Wyatt and hat-trick hero Zack Wimbush withdrawing through injuries. Wyatt was taken off in the first-half with what appeared to be an ankle injury, while powerhouse Wimbush came off with a similar issue after scoring his third of the day. They are two players who have not had it easy on the injury front, so hopefully they are not set for an extended spell on the sidelines.