Clermont Auvergne vs. Toulon: Winners and Losers from Champions Cup Final
Toulon wrote a new chapter in club rugby history with an unprecedented third straight European crown.
Bernard Laporte’s men hoisted the new European Champions Cup to add to their 2013 and 2014 Heineken Cup triumphs after a 24-18 win over French rivals Clermont Auvergne on Saturday.
It’s the second time in three seasons Toulon have defeated Les Jaunards in the final, and they may still meet again in the denouement to the French domestic league with the pair occupying first and second in the Top 14.
And they will look to exert the same superiority across the board they exhibited at Twickenham, as they dampened Clermont’s attacking zeal with a mix of ruthless defence and clever counterpunching.
Each time the challengers struck a blow, the champions hit back to take their momentum away, and in the end Franck Azema’s team ran out of ideas and time.
Let’s have a look at the winners and losers.
Loser: Clermont’s Indiscipline
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After an electrifying start, Clermont Auvergne were in pole position to dominate Toulon.
But they allowed the champions back into the game, and under pressure, they began to hemorrhage penalties.
With Leigh Halfpenny on hand to kick the goals, Toulon nullified the effects of Clermont’s early try with three penalties from the Welshman that put them two points behind.
It was a position from which they could pounce, and they did so with Mathieu Bastareaud’s try on the buzzer.
In the final analysis, Clermont’s 10 penalties conceded was only one higher than Toulon’s total, but they crucially gave away too many in areas where Halfpenny could maximize the damage.
Winner/Loser: Nick Abendanon
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Nick Abendanon’s decision to counter-attack with the clock in the red before half-time cost his team dear.
Toulon gathered his poor kick, then Chris Masoe bounced off the Englishman as he tried to make amends and Toulon had scored two phases later.
The 11-9 score became 11-16 at the break, and Abendanon might have expected a roasting in the Clermont dressing room during the interval.
He atoned in emphatic style early in the second half with a delicious chip-and-chase to leave the Toulon defence flat-footed and help make it a one-point game.
This was a curate’s egg of a game for the former Bath man that may not have enhanced any further his chances of a regulation-busting England recall.
Winners: Toulon’s Old Men in the Engine Room
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Ali Williams and Bakkies Botha rolled back the years to run around Twickenham like two enthusiastic young bucks, never mind a pair of locks with 162 caps and 69 birthday cakes between them.
Botha left the fray after 50 minutes, but the 34-year-old Williams was on the field until the final whistle and deservedly won Man of the Match.
They contributed 11 tackles and ran for 23 metres with the ball, per ESPN.co.uk, but their offloads, lineout work and ruck-hitting also made a major contribution to Toulon’s victory. They will be a hard double act to replace next season.
"Some performance so far from Toulon's grand old locks, Botha and Williams. Power drives, big hits, deft off-loads... #stillgotit
— Chris Foy (@FoyChris) May 2, 2015"
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Loser: Brock James’ Injury Curse
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Clermont are no strangers to "what ifs" when it comes to defeats in tournament finals.
But they must have been cursing their luck when they lost fly-half Brock James to a hamstring injury in the warm-up, per uk.reuters.com.
James had gotten back into the Clermont side after an injury to Camille Lopez gave the Australian an opportunity.
He had taken it with both hands. According to @OptaJonny, James was the tournament’s best goal-kicker with 11 successful kicks from 11 attempts before the final.
"100% - @ASMOfficiel's Brock James has the best kick success in the @ChampionsCup 2014/15 (min 10 attempts). Pinpoint. pic.twitter.com/hKaPP5CtQS
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) May 2, 2015"
Winner: Mitchell Alerts Aussie Selectors
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Australia last week ditched their policy not to pick overseas-based players for the World Cup.
The stance opens the door for Toulon pair Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau.
And while most observers might have thought it was a policy change directly aimed at reinstating Giteau’s wizardy to the Wallaby back line, it was Mitchell who pulled a rabbit out of the hat in this showpiece.
The wing’s scorching try after a run that took him past six Clermont defenders was a world-class score that may just prompt Aussie coach Michael Cheika to reserve two spots for overseas players in his squad for the autumn.
Winner: Three in a Row for Terrific Toulon
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In modern sport, teams who have benefited from an injection of pots of cash often draw disdain from many observers who see their success as bought rather than earned.
But as Stuart Barnes remarked in his post-match comments on Sky Sports coverage of the final, “It’s jot just having money, it’s how you spend it.”
Mourad Boudjellal’s money has bought stars from all over the rugby planet and moulded them into a team with an ethic and attitude equally as strong as any crop reared through a club’s own system.
There is no way a side can win three consecutive European crowns without that.
Loser: The Twickenham Special Effects Department
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An eagle-eyed Tom Hamilton from ESPN.co.uk noted that as Toulon hoisted the trophy, the streamers and ticker tape that exploded around them was not in the winners’ red and black, but the blue and yellow of the losers.
"Well someone might have got that wrong... Yellow and blue ticker tape greets Toulon's triumph pic.twitter.com/bek7tIqb6c
— Tom Hamilton (@tomESPNscrum) May 2, 2015"
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
