Toulouse cracked Sale
Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Saturday January 14, 2023 at 3:48 p.m.
While the Sale Sharks spent more than an hour in numerical interiority, Toulouse waited until the end of the match to make the difference and sign a third victory in as many Champions Cup days (5-27), thus securing its place in round of 16.
Toulouse reached a son but. After having achieved a clear round during the first two days of the group stage of the Champions Cup, Ugo Mola’s players did not miss their trip to Sale. A third victory in as many days on the continental scene which, however, was not obvious in the first period. Indeed, if the Sharks had to see the front three again at the conclusion of the first action, Simon McIntyre and Nick Schonert having to give up their places on concussion protocol after being telescoped, they were the ones who struck first shortly before the quarter of an hour of play. Taking advantage of a foul by Emmanuel Meafou in the middle of the field, the English team found a touch five meters on which Armand Akker van der Merwe was propelled into the in-goal by a ball carried smoothly led, Robert du Preez then missing the conversion. Not stunned, the Toulouse got their hands on the ball and took the initiative in the game. They were then helped by an undisciplined Sale team. Halfway through the first act, for a direct contact with the shoulder at Dorian Aldegheri’s head, second-line Jacobus Wiese received a direct red card.
Meafou in the oven and at the mill
The South African thus imposed on his team to play the last hour of play in numerical inferiority. Voluntary but too imprecise, the Toulousans finally relied on Melvyn Jaminet to unlock their counter a quarter of an hour before the break. Without being put in danger, the Haute-Garonne club failed to find flaws in the English defense before returning to the locker room, on a two-unit advantage in favor of the Sharks. The club from the suburbs of Manchester was then absolutely silent from the point of view of the score but above all in a crying lack of discipline. In the space of 25 minutes, they put themselves at fault four times for as many penalties converted by Melvyn Jaminet, who however had to struggle with a headwind. By dint of putting pressure on the defense of Sale, Toulouse forced his opponent to draw on his resources. It was ultimately wear and tear that the five-time winner of the competition ended up making the difference in the last quarter of an hour. Very influential in the game of his team, Emmanuel Meafou is the one through whom the solution came.
Toulouse provides the essentials
After combining with Antoine Dupont and Juan Cruz Mallia, Dimitri Delibes was stopped not far from the in-goal. It was then that the second line intervened to grab the ball and flatten on the line. A test which however required the intervention of the video referee to be confirmed and which Melvyn Jaminet did not fail to transform. In the process, it was Guillaume Cramont who gave a little more clarity to the Toulouse success. The latter came to conclude an action initiated by Antoine Dupont, who knew how to rely on Pierre-Louis Barassi to pierce the defensive curtain and then serve his hooker on a plateau. With about ten minutes left to play against a team on the kneecaps, the Toulousans gave everything to get the two missing tries to take the offensive bonus but without result. However, the essentials are assured for the Rouge-et-Noir, who clearly win for the third time in three days (5-27) and join the Leicester Tigers at the top of Pool B with qualification for the round of 16. which is now assured. The reception of Munster next weekend will be an opportunity to ensure a good ranking for the first knockout round in this Champions Cup.