Toulon's failure to
kick an early second-half penalty against Cardiff cost them
dearly, according to both the club's owner (Mourad
Boudjellal) and its head coach (Philippe Saint-André).
The French side were
leading 13-6 at the time after a buoyant first period and
looked to be heading for their first European trophy, but
Fernandez-Lobbe took a quick tap penalty in the 45th minute
instead of handing the ball to England fly-half Jonny
Wilkinson.
Toulon failed to gain
anything from the quick penalty and five minutes later their
game fell apart after Wilkinson collapsed trying to kick a
far more difficult attempt from the sidelines.
Cardiff immediately
seized upon the temporary confusion caused by Tom May being
switched from centre to fly-half and the Blues then rattled
up 22 points in 20 minutes
to seal the win.
"It was the moment when
we lost the match," lamented Boudjellal. "It turned because
we did not respect the Blues team. I am angry," he added.
Saint-André also
admitted it proved a turning point. "We should not have
played a quick penalty," he said afterwards.
A clearly frustrated
Boudjellal went further. "We had the opportunity to have a
10-point lead, and it is unacceptable not to try in a
final," he added.
Skipper Joe Van Niekerk
said it was "not the best decision", while all involved -
including Blues boss Dai Young - agreed that Wilkinson's
injury-enforced departure had a major impact on the game's
outcome.
Saint-André said team
medics were unsure of the extent of Wilkinson's injury and
would only find out from an MRI scan on Tuesday. If it
proves to be a cracked rib, as feared, then the 30-year-old
will definitely be out of England's summer tour Down Under.
Wilkinson himself said
he was fairly confident it wasn't a serious injury. "From
what the physio said I hope it is run of the mill, that I
can have some treatment and be raring to go," he said.
Wilkinson's team-mate
Sonny Bill Williams, meanwhile, has been offered a
contract by NZRU as they bid to lure him back to New Zealand
in time to make the All Blacks' squad for the 2011 World
Cup.
Williams scored
Toulon's only try in Sunday's final and has been in
outstanding form during the second half of the season after
finally being injury free and getting a consistent run of
games.
The former rugby league
international is out of contract at Toulon now, although the
club are believed to have offered him a lucrative four-year
deal in an attempt to make him stay.
Top 14 Transfers 2010/11
However, his agent
Khoder Nasser has confirmed that the NZRU has now tabled a
bid for Williams, with a meeting likely to take place with
All Blacks coach Graham Henry later this week.
"We've made an offer to
Sonny Bill to come and play rugby from July," said NZRU
acting chief executive Neil Sorensen. "We think he's a
special athlete. For a guy who is relatively new to the game
his potential is enormous. We're really keen for him to be
part of our environment," he added.
One player definitely
leaving France is England hooker Steve Thompson, who
has decided to quit Brive in favour of a return to
the Guinness Premiership with Leeds.
Thompson, 31, joined Brive from Northampton in 2007,
although he initially didn't play due to a broken neck.
Brive maintained faith in him, however, and then owner
Daniel Derichebourg kept his word on the contract and
persuaded Thompson to act as a recruitment officer and help
with training.
A surprise playing
return then followed - forcing Thompson to give back a
massive insurance payout - and the combative hooker even
earned an England recall this season. He is part of Martin
Johnson's summer tour squad and has now decided that it's
right for a return to England, where he will play under
former international team-mate Neil Back.
His departure from
Brive continues the club's current cost-cutting exercise as
they seek to trim their squad back from 37 to 32, and he
follows fellow England internationals Andy Goode and Riki
Flutey out of the Limousin club this summer.
Part of the club's
problem is that multi-millionaire Derichebourg is no longer
their owner, and their failure to qualify for the Heineken
Cup next season has also had a knock-on effect. In addition
the current head coach - Ugo Mola - would like to have more
French players in the squad, something that is amply
reflected in their present transfer activity.
In other news former
Stade Francais coach Fabien Galthié has been
announced as the new man in charge at Montpellier.
Galthié's arrival had
been widely tipped for months, and follows the recent
confirmation that ex-Albi boss Eric Béchu had joined as
forwards coach.
Club president Thierry
Perez was clearly delighted to have brought in the
41-year-old Galthié, who is a close friend. "We were looking
for a charismatic coach who is a former international," he
said after the announcement.
