Stade Francais confirm championship credentials with victory in Toulon

by Colin Spiro 13 September 2008

Toulon (7) 13 Stade Francais (10) 19

If anyone had doubted them beforehand the rugby aristocrats of Paris laid down their marker in Toulon last night, overcoming Tana Umaga’s defiant home team as well as an impassioned crowd as they triumphed 19-13 at a packed Stade Mayol.

Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal may have got the increased performance he had demanded from his highly paid stars, roared on by baying and vociferous support, but Stade Francais withstood everything they could throw – including a brutal 30-man brawl shortly before half-time – to maintain their perfect start to the new season.

Four out of four wins will have been more than new coach Ewen McKenzie could have hoped for, but with successive away victories in Perpignan (26-11) and Toulon now under his belt the Australian has confirmed that Stade will be serious championship contenders again this season.

This was not a match for the feint-hearted but it certainly provided entertainment aplenty as breaks and counter-breaks were traded as freely as punches in the ‘bagarre generale’ that resulted in props David Banquet (Toulon) and Rodgrio Roncero (Stade) both seeing red in the 39^th minute.

Rugby may have move forward with the new ELVs but some props remain defiantly archaic in their resistance to change and here was a pair straight from the ‘Raging Bull’ variety of finishing-school. Their introductory offering was a spot of forehead-to-forehead posturing at the first scrum, and the end result was seemingly inevitable from there on in. What was surprising, when it did eventually kick off, was the speed and brutality with which it escalated, quickly drawing in all 30 players – not to mention some of the support staff too – as the raucous Stade Mayol briefly turned into Rome’s Coliseum.

Fittingly, it was two Italians who played integral roles in the evening’s other event – the actual match – with Toulon full-back Ramiro Pez experiencing a night to forget (especially under the high ball) while compatriot Parisse led his team throughout with a performance as immense and dominating as his huge frame.

It was Pez who caught the eye first, but he won’t look back fondly on the reasons why after a delayed clearance was charged down by Julien Arias, allowing the Stade winger to run-in unopposed for a sixth-minute try that stunned the home team. Lionel Beauxis duly converted, adding a penalty eight minutes later to further extend the visitors’ advantage.

At that point a Toulon implosion seemed imminently possible but Jerry Collins rallied his troops and 19-year-old academy product Clement Imbert touched down six minutes later after a sweet move from a stolen lineout on the halfway line. This time Pez was the creator with an excellent long pass allowing centre Tusi Pisi to break clear before feeding the flame-haired Imbert to administer a rejuvenating score.

Pez’s conversion cut the gap to just three points but Collins was shown yellow for stamping on the half-hour mark allowing Paris to dominate up to the interval. It was during this period of hectic defence and blatant time-wasting that tempers began to rise, and when the all-in brawl sparked just before the break Beauxis exacted the most painful revenge by slotting another penalty – after two previous misses – to lift Stade six points clear. It was to prove a crucial advantage and one that Toulon could never close despite their redoubled efforts after the break.

The second period mirrored the first for intensity but the lightning pace eventually slowed – it had to – as battle fatigue set in, enabling Stade fly half Juan Martin Hernandez to dictate play with his deft footwork.

The Argentine was the picture of cool throughout as he mixed up his kicking patterns, eventually breaking Toulon hearts with a pair of drop goals that ensured there would be no late revival. It allowed Paris crucial breathing space and as the clock wound down Toulon’s increasingly desperate handling brought inevitable errors.

In the end they were beaten by the better team, and there’s no shame in that, but Boudjellal’s men showed enough to convince that early teething problems should be ironed out once his collection of eclectic stars and home grown talent have had the time to blend.

Not many teams will exit the Mayol with pride, victory and bodies still intact, but Stade look a sharp outfit on this showing, although I’m still not sure about their tie-dye tops.

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