Heineken Cup, round six:
Toulouse stay afloat after mud-Bath stalemate
25 January
2009
 Stade
Toulousain will travel to Wales to play Cardiff Blues in the
Heineken Cup quarter-finals after drawing 3-3 away to Bath -
the lowest scoring result in the competition's 971-game
history.
The three-times champions narrowly failed to
get the win they sought to guarantee a home berth - after
Castres had done them a huge favour by beating London Wasps
earlier in the day - but they did at least do enough to
ensure a French presence in the competition's knock-out
stages.
In conditions more akin to mud-wrestling than
top flight European rugby the Top 14 leaders dominated for
much of a feisty first-half, but only had three points to
their name as Jean-Baptiste Elissalde squandered a series of
kickable penalties.
Elissalde, who played at fly-half, missed
with four out of five attempts before the interval, although
it would be hard to single him out as the incessant rain
turned kicking into a lottery.
He did at least succeed with a
straightforward effort after 22 minutes - levelling the
match at 3-3 following Butch James' earlier effort - but the
lack of further points was poor reward for a determined
Toulouse performance, especially from their belligerent pack
in the face of a typically partisan crowd.
Elissalde missed a further attempt after the
break, as did Bath's James, but by the end it was Toulouse
who were hanging on as the home side put together an
18-phase move as they tried to finish with a decisive score.
At times it was like watching a game from 20
years ago as both sides did their best to come to terms with
the appalling conditions, but it was enthralling viewing
nonetheless as they each battled it out in an effort to
secure a home quarter-final tie.
Heineken Cup tables
Castres' 21-15 defeat of Wasps meant both
sides went into the match secure they would make the last
eight, but victory for either would have ensured home
advantage in the next round - incentive enough as they
sploshed their way through the 80 minutes.
In the end the draw was probably a fair
result - although it suited neither side - and it now leaves
Toulouse with a testing trip to Wales to take on the only
team to progress thus far with a 100% win record.
Having said that Cardiff away looks a more
inviting prospect than a trip to Munster, and Toulouse will
just be happy to have made it through after their costly
aberration at home to Glasgow last week.
The misfiring passes of Byron Kelleher summed
up their frustration on a day when the weather truly had the
last word, but the former All Black scrum-half - who had an
otherwise impressive game - believes they can still progress
to make amends for their final defeat at Munster last year.
"The experience in this team is such that we
feel we can win away from home as well as at home," he
stressed afterwards.
"It doesn't matter where we play - the
exciting thing is we're through to the last eight. This
Toulouse team is all about big games and we'll have one of
those in the quarter-final. I'm sure it will be a
competitive game.
"It wasn't a fantastic display at Bath, but
it was a fantastic result. And it's good to see at least one
French team in the quarter-final mix. Losing at home to
Glasgow was a bit of a tragedy for us in the final analysis
but, as a professional team, we have to learn from that," he
said.
Bath, meanwhile, now have a testing away tie
against Leicester Tigers, although coach Steve Meehan was
content with his team's efforts - especially in light of the
Matt Stevens drug revelations which dogged the club in the
match build-up.
"We were fortunate to be 3-3 at half-time -
the score didn't do Toulouse any justice at all. They had
all the territory and possession, while we were looking for
miracle fixes," he said.
"All we asked for this week was absolute
commitment, and the guys gave their all. It was a very solid
team performance. To play six matches, and have four wins, a
draw and a narrow loss to Toulouse, was very good. I believe
in these players - they are very resilient and full of
character."
Defending champions Munster won their delayed
match at Montauban 39-13 to confirm a home
quarter-final against the Ospreys. The Irish outfit ran in
five tries to secure the bonus-point win, although they were
6-0 down after 18 minutes thanks to two Julien Audy
penalties, and only 10-6 ahead at half-time with Thomas
O'Leary grabbing the first of their scores.
Mounting pressure finally told after the
interval as Lifeimi Mafi ran in a brace of tries to give the
visitors a 22-6 cushion, but Montauban refused to roll over
and reduced the arrears when lock Scott Murray went over for
a 58th-minute converted try.
A Ronan O'Gara penalty ensured the fight-back
was short-lived and the Irish added gloss to the scoreline
when substitute Barry Murphy went over twice in the closing
10 minutes.
Top 14 strugglers Castres perhaps
provided the day's biggest surprise when they overturned
Wasps 21-15 to end the Londoners' own dreams of European
glory.
The home side - who had lost four of their
previous five Pool 2 games - surged 14-3 ahead after 23
minutes thanks to tries from Thomas Bouquie and Chris Masoe,
coupled with a pair of conversions from Romain Teulet.
An individual score from England fly-half
Danny Cipriani brought Wasps back into the mix and both
sides then missed penalties before centre Dom Waldouck
scored the visitors' second try to put them ahead for the
first time in the match with 13 minutes left to play.
The London side were just four minutes from
progressing through when Bouquie scored his second try of
the game, with Teulet again converting, to leave the
twice-champions stunned as they were dumped unceremoniously
out of the competition.
Castres manager Alain Gaillard was
understandably delighted with the result as the club tries
to build momentum in its ongoing fight against relegation
from Top 14.
"We are very happy with this result. We
haven't always taken our chances this season so we are very
pleased that we did today," he said.
"To score three tries against a team of the
quality of Wasps is fantastic. But most of all we are
satisfied with our performance and that we really played
some good rugby. This is going to give us great confidence
going into the league," he added.
Elsewhere, Leinster beat Edinburgh 12-3 to
seal an away quarter-final against Harlequins.
Over in the European Challenge Cup
French side Montpellier went down to their fourth
defeat in Pool 2 as they lost 25-14 at Bristol, although
there was good news for Bourgoin as their 50-10 win
against Bucuresti on Saturday earned them a previously
unlikely quarter-final slot.
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