Gloucester upset four-times champions Toulouse in a classic Heineken Cup meeting at Kingsholm on Friday night. Despite the 34-24 loss, Toulouse have qualified for the quarter finals. Below are highlights of a game that featured some wonderful tries.
Things didn’t start according to plan for Gloucester as they lost prop Nick Wood to the sin-bin with just one minute on the clock. His wreckless use of the boot on a player put the home side at an immediate disadvantage, but it came to nothing as they scored first after a frantic bit of play by dynamic winger Timoci Matanavou. Jonny May swooped to score his first of two tries on the night.
May and Charlie Sharples featured strongly for the home side as the speedsters not only scored some great tries, but both contributed towards an excellent overall team effort. Freddie Burns was also prominent as he scored 14 points with the boot.
“That was a great performance,” said Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath. “We knew they had picked a big, physical side and we showed them a lot of respect. I thought numbers one to 23 – our substitutes that came on made a big difference as well – were great. I am delighted for the boys because we finished off the Heineken Cup in style.
“Freddie has been improving over the past six or seven weeks, and he has been learning to do things other than the fancy stuff. In general terms, he controlled the game pretty well. Jonny is in the top two try-scorers in the Premiership, and he has probably scored a few in the Heineken and LV= Cup. With Charlie as well, our back three were dangerous tonight,” he added.
While Gloucester exit the competition after finishing third in Pool Six, Toulouse have qualified as pool winners after Harlequins’ surprise defeat at the hands of Connacht.
Below are extended highlights from a fantastic game of rugby. Enjoy.
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