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04
October 2008
 Castres
(3) 10 Toulouse (21) 28
Resurgent Toulouse romped to an easy 28-10 away win at
Castres, but the ‘Rouges et Noirs’ will be kicking
themselves for throwing away a vital bonus point when they
conceded a late try.
Guy Noves’ team dominated against a
lacklustre Castres from the off, opening up a 21-3 advantage
by half-time and extending it further to 28-3 within minutes
of the restart. A second-half romp with an attacking bonus
point safely in the bag seemed assured, but the defending
champions paid the price for easing off – perhaps with one
eye on next week’s Heineken Cup clash against Bath – and
were punished when Thomas Sanchou squirmed over for a
consolation try 10 minutes from time.
Up until then Castres had been wondering
around like a drunk without a bottle, missing tackles,
touches and dropping straightforward passes as they were
overwhelmed by Toulouse’s superior strength, skill and
conviction.
It was scant reward for a full house at the
Stade Pierre Antoine on a wet and surprisingly cold evening,
with the match even being halted temporarily shortly before
the interval when a passing hailstorm forced the players
off.
At that point it seemed Castres’ most likely
route to respite, even if it was only fleeting, with
Toulouse already two tries and 18 points to the good after
strolling into a 21-3 lead.
The opening 53 seconds should have served as
a wake-up call for the home side – that’s how long it took
for Toulouse to threaten their first score when full-back
Maxime Medard ran on to a Byron Kelleher kick only to
knock-on in the try zone – but rather than inspire it
appeared to hinder, with the home side a bag of
butter-fingered nerves on a night when calm hands were
required.
Kelleher, inevitably, was at the hub of
Toulouse’s early pressure, although some of his passing was
understandably awry as he had been due a night’s rest on the
subs bench until Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde was withdrawn
shortly before kick-off.
Fly-half David Skrela calmly opened the
scoring with a fifth-minute penalty and Toulouse where 10-0
up shortly after when Fijian Maleli Kunavore charged down a
kick to run in clear under the posts.
Skrela then traded drop-goals – the current
vogue in Top 14 - with 20-year-old Castres fly-half Romain
Boscus, before another penalty further extended the
visitors’ lead to 16-3 with less than half an hour gone.
Returning scrum-half Sebastien Tilous-Borde
and number eight Tekori were the home side’s lonely battlers
but another defensive mix-up from the high ball proved
costly as Yves Donguy set up Cedric Heymans for a break
before quick hands saw Skrela send Kunavore over for his
second try of the evening.
Medard’s instinctive counter-attacking acted
as a spur to the team all night and it looked like Toulouse
were just about ready to run riot when the hail arrived, and
not long after that the interval.
Within two minutes of the restart Heymans had
crossed for his fourth try of the season, again after more
incisive running from Medard, but Skrela’s conversion proved
to be Toulouse’s final points of the match as the contest
all but fizzled out.
The final 30 minutes should have been
exhibition stuff from the champions but instead they lost
two key personnel – Kelleher limped off and Skrela got a
nasty gash on his cheek – as well as a much needed bonus
point.
The result still lifted Toulouse into second
spot behind Stade Francais, at least until Saturday evening,
but it didn’t do Castres any favours. They remain 13th after
just one win in seven games, but will drop to the foot of
the table if Mont-de-Marsan win at Brive.
Castres Toulouse
Tries: Sanchou Kuanvore (2), Heymans
Conv: Bouquer Skrela (2)
Pens: Skrela (2)
DGs: Boscus Skrela
• Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde, who had been due to return to the
starting line-up after three weeks out with a thigh injury,
was withdrawn after needing hospital treatment for a kidney
problem.
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