Toulouse down sloppy Sharks
01/11/2025 12:38 PM
MATCH REPORT: The defending Champions Cup holders Toulouse continued their dominance with a 20-8 victory over an error-ridden Sharks at Kings Park.
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In a scrappy affair, the visitors proved to handle the big moments better than the hosts throughout the match.
The French giants dominated the territory in the first-half as the hosts struggled to get out of their own half.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE
Toulouse started the better of the two sides after a linebreak by Mauvaka sent early alarm bells going off as he got his pass away to Dupont but his pass couldn't go to hand out wide.
A 50/22 kick gave Toulouse an attacking lineout as they bashed it away towards the Sharks line and got the reward through Emmanuel Meafou in the ninth minute as Ramos converted.
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The Sharks reduced the deficit after Toulouse was penalised for having hands on the ground in the act of contesting as Jordan Hendrikse slotted over the three points to open the hosts' account in the 14th minute.
Toulouse looked set to score again as Dupont set Ntamack up who was well watched by Mapimpi and the ball was knocked on at the next phase.
Jordan Hendrikse lost the ball in contact as the Sharks opted to run the ball from their own 22 and the ball was kicked into the corner by Toulouse but the Sharks managed to clear the ball away.
Toulouse won a scrum penalty inside the Sharks 22 on the hosts' feed as they opted for the corner and formed the maul before breaking away.
Toulouse attacked with quick hands before Ramos executed a kick-pass to Lebel who stepped into touch as the Sharks got out of jail again.
A scruffle broke out in the 34th minute between Meafou who pushed Mbonambi on the ground.
The penalty that would've gone to the Sharks was reversed due to Buthelezi's retaliation as Ramos stepped up for the long-range attempt and added three more points.
The Sharks won a scrum penalty on the stroke of half-time as Jaden Hendrikse set a lineout for the hosts inside Toulouse's half.
The Sharks won the lineout but lost the ball as Dupont made a break on the blindside before the Sharks got penalised for offside play.
Ramos slotted a sitter to give his side a 10 point lead heading into the half-time break.
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The second-half started where it finished off for Toulouse as Willis broke through the middle of the ruck and set the visitors up in a promising position but then the ball was knocked-on by Dupont.
The Sharks failed to clear their lines as Toulouse counter attacked and got the wide pass to Lebel who got his pass away to Ramos as his offload found Kinghorn who went over for Toulouse's second try which Ramos converted.
Both sides had numerous handing errors due to the humid conditions, but Toulouse still dominated as Ntamack slotted a 50/22 but the ball was once again knocked-on in the Sharks 22 by the visitors.
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The Sharks finally got over the line in the 66th minute through former Junior Bok sensation Jurenzo Julius after he got his offload away to Penxe who found Nick Hatton and his pass landed back into the hands of Julius who went over for the try which went unconverted.
Flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse went off for an HIA in the 70th minute as the errors continued from both sides in the final 10 minutes - with Toulouse managing the game the better of the two sides.
The Sharks had a final opportunity to get into Toulouse's 22, but Jaden Hendrikse kicked the penalty into touch-in-goal gifting Toulouse a scrum with seconds to spare as Dupont kicked it out to end proceedings in Durban.
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Scorers
For the Sharks:
Try: Julius
Pen: Hendrikse
For Toulouse:
Tries: Meafou, Kinghorn
Cons: Ramos 2
Pens: Ramos 2
Teams
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Jeandre Labuschagne, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Nick Hatton, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Jurenzo Julius.
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Jack Willis, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Rodrigue Neti.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Leo Banos, 21 Paul Graou, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Ange Capuozzo.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England) & Hamish Grant (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Picture credit: @EPCR
