Toulon signed a clear improved victory on their lawn against Stade Français Paris during the penultimate meeting of the 20th day of the Top 14 (37-9). The Parisians give up second place in the standings in La Rochelle.
Toulon is immediately moving forward. A week after suffering a setback in Clermont, the players of Franck Azéma and Pierre Mignoni offered the scalp of the Stade Français Paris, who was in second place in the standings before this 20th day of the Top 14. On their lawn at the Stade Mayol, the Toulonnais did not take this match by the right end concerning discipline. Indeed, the referee very quickly sanctioned a ball kept on the ground by Ihaia West and Joris Segonds, from 22 meters on the right of the poles, did not miss the target. In the aftermath, while Cheslin Kolbe saw his kicking game being countered by the Parisian defense, the RCT was again caught failing on the ground. Same cause, same consequences. Joris Segonds added three new points at the foot. After this complicated start, the Varois got back on the right track and took control. At the quarter of an hour of play, Duncan Paia’aua made the Toulon public stand up. Perfectly offset by Waisea, the center went queen. After this decisive pass, the former Stade Français Paris player made a mistake after tackling Kylan Hamdaoui.
The Stade Français Paris uninspired
This allowed Joris Segonds to pass a third penalty… and to score the last points for the capital club in this meeting. Thomas Salles answered him very quickly before Cheslin Kolbe consolidated the domination of the RCT. Playing the interception on a pass from Paul Alo-Emile, the South African winger finally played on foot for himself. His burst of speed was enough to recover the ball and go to the test. Just before returning to the locker room, Thomas Salles added three points at the foot, giving Toulon an eleven-length mattress. The RCT striker did it again barely six minutes after the restart to reward his team’s good start to the second act. The two teams then neutralized each other. As the hour of play approached, the Varois found themselves outnumbered for ten minutes, Facundo Isa being sanctioned with a yellow card after collapsing a ball carried by Paris. Sorely lacking in ideas, the players of Gonzalo Quesada have never been in a position to take advantage of this numerical superiority. After a scuffle at the end of the first period, the tension started to rise again at the end of the game.
Toulon was slow to secure the bonus
Marcos Kremer was guilty of a gesture of nervousness on Baptiste Serin in a regrouping just under a quarter of an hour from the siren, offering the Toulonnais the opportunity to return to the Parisian camp. It was ultimately the players from Stade Français Paris who cracked. In the 72nd minute, while Thomas Salles played at the foot at ground level behind the Parisian defense, Cheslin Kolbe was overtaken by Peniasi Dakuwaqa. The latter then deflected the ball into a dead ball to prevent the Toulonnais from scoring. The double penalty was immediate. While the winger of the Capital club had to watch the last minutes from the edge of the field, a penalty try synonymous with an offensive bonus was awarded to the RCT. A five-point victory that Cornell du Preez consolidated as the siren approached. The third-line made himself available at the end of the line to add to the bill. On the last action, the Parisians pushed to save honor but without success. With this clear victory (37-9), Toulon is back two points behind Bayonne and sixth place. The Stade Français Paris, for its part, is dislodged from the place of dolphin of Toulouse by La Rochelle, which takes a point in advance.
