Heineken Cup Final Review - Toulon 23 - 6 Saracens

Building a dynasty is hard work.  Take a look at the great European sides, the sides that have achieved the hallowed glory of retaining the ultimate club trophy – Leicester and Leinster.  Neither of them just appeared at the pinnacle of the game overnight, but rather the foundations were set in the previous seasons and they built year upon year, like clouds building before a storm.   Very poetic hey?  That's the traditional way of doing it.  Blood and graft.  The other alternative is to spend £25 million assembling a team of the best players on the planet from the last generation.  That should probably do it as well.

Of course, I am doing Toulon a massive disservice by saying that they arrived in Cardiff on Saturday with the chance of retaining a trophy purely because of a huge wads of cash splurged on the side.  Don't get me wrong, that helped, especially when you consider that they weren't even in the Top 14 6 years ago.  But there's no point in having the world's best players there merely for a twilight-career holiday/big pay cheque, which seemed to be the case when the Toulon revolution first started.  Instead, there is now a drive to succeed, to dominate and to create a side that will be chiselled into history as one of the greatest.  It's that drive, personified by the great Jonny Wilkinson – playing his last game in the UK before retirement – that saw Toulon arrive in Cardiff with a very real chance of creating a dynasty.

That said, it's pretty well known that there is something special happening at Saracens, and they are looking at creating their own history.  In a way, they had already made it – this was their first European Cup final – but they have set their sights far higher than acting as runners up.  In previous years, there have been questions raised over the substance behind the swagger, but those questions have been answered this year, with a more expansive gameplan and a dominant season in the domestic league backed up by one of the most spectacularly physical displays ever seen against a previously irrepressible Clermont side.  They were not here to make up the numbers and, come kick off, you could sense that they wanted to let Toulon know that as soon as possible.

And it was Saracens who made the first big statement when Chris Ashton – perhaps not the man you’d usually associate with putting down a physical marker – slamming into Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe straight from the kick off, forcing a knock on.  The scrum, predictably, went down on a Millennium Stadium pitch that (as usual) looked like a mud casserole, but Alain Rolland – another imminent retiree – pinned the blame on Toulon.  Owen Farrell took the chance to get the first points on the board with aplomb, and the English side had a 3 – 0 lead.

 I predicted before the game that this wasn’t going to a pretty encounter, and it takes me no pleasure in saying that the opening quarter proved me right as we were treated to a dire concoction of collapsed scrums, knock-ons and scrappy lineouts as both sides struggled to get a foot hold – literally – in attack.  Toulon looked to make some inroads briefly into the Saracens 22, with Steffon Armitage and Juan Smith carrying strongly, but the wolf-pack defence – led by Schalk Brits, Jaques Burger and Alistair Hargreaves – shut down any momentum early on.  Instead, Saracens began to take the slightest hint of control of the game, and could have gone ahead through a Marcelo Bosch trademark monster penalty, but the Argentinean’s attempt drifted wide.

Billy Vunipola was starting to rumble for Sarries, making yards and drawing in defenders with every carry, but the problem for the English side was that he was about the only one having any joy with the ball in hand against a ferocious Toulon defence.  In particular, Craig Burden absolutely creamed compatriot, opposite number and renowned Sarries-dangerman Brits not once, but twice in quick succession, and Mako Vunipola even found himself dumped on his backside by the even bigger Mathieu Bastareau.  Despite the hits though, the game was still lacking in major incident – until Lobbe was shown a yellow card for clumsily dragging down Hargreaves whilst the lock was taking a high ball.  Farrell missed the penalty attempt but now, against 14 men, this was surely the time for Saracens to strike?

Nope.  Consistently harried and frustrated, it became quickly clear that Saracens were being, well, out-Sarried, and to make matters worse, Toulon grabbed the lead with the first moment of real class in the game.  With the ball in midfield, Jonny Wilkinson – invisible before this point – spotted space on the blindside and flung it wide to Matt Giteau, who chipped ahead.  Fellow Wallaby Drew Mitchell was haring after it and, thanks to a fortunate bounce and some great hands, the winger was able to pop the ball back inside to Giteau for the centre to dive over in the corner.  Wilkinson added a magnificent touchline conversion, and the score was 7 – 3.

That wasn’t how Sarries wanted to use their one man advantage, but it did finally give the game some life.  Ashton made a promising dart into the Toulon half before Burger absolutely obliterated Bakkies Botha with a monster hit from behind.  Two of the hardest men in world rugby colliding, and only Botha could get up from that with nothing more than a grimace.  Toulon though, held firm, and even had time to apply some pressure from a driving lineout just before halftime, which gave Wilkinson the platform from which to add a superb drop goal with his right boot.  Magnificent.  I’m going to really miss that.  Half time came and it was 10 – 3 to the French side, and Sarries had a mountain to climb.

Now, the London club have proven this year that they can play some very decent rugby, but we haven’t seen them have to fight back – and against a resilient defence comprising of a selection of the world’s best players, it was hard to see where that opening would come from.  Despite Billy Vunipola’s thunderous charges, and a smart break by Owen Farrell, the Toulon defence was brutal with Lobbe and Juan Smith chopping down everything that moved, and Steffon Armitage gleefully pouncing to win turnover after turnover in a masterclass of openside play.  But Saracens at least had the scrum, where Matt Stevens – despite getting penalised all over the park elsewhere – had the upper hand, and it earned Farrell another simple 3 points.

The reduced deficit didn’t last for long, though, as Armitage once again got his mitts on the ball and forced a penalty, which came with a sense of inevitability as Wilkinson smashed over an outstanding effort once more.  And 10 minutes later, things got much worse for the Londoners.  Ali Williams delayed a pass to Wilkinson, who flung it wide to Mitchell, despite getting creamed in the process.  The former Wallaby found Bastareaud on the right, and the big man drew in two defenders to put Juan Smith and Lobbe running down on Alex Goode as the last man.  Despite the full back’s best efforts, the South African and the Argentinean exchanged passes and Smith touched down in the corner to take the game well beyond Saracens.  Oh, and Wilkinson casually knocked over the touchline conversion, of course.

Finally, Saracens’ heads dropped, but that didn’t mean that they stopped hurling themselves into tackles with admirable vigour and aggression.  Wilkinson slammed over another penalty from halfway to take the score to 23 – 6, and Toulon managed to see out the game in comfortable fashion, despite not being able to add to the score.  Bastareaud even attempted a drop goal, which – I can promise you – must go down as one of the most amusing things ever seen on a rugby pitch.  I’ve seen 4th XV props with more finesse.

It didn’t take the shine off a sensational and powerful display by Toulon though.  Wilkinson left the field for the last time in Britain to a rousing ovation, and then even mustered a smile as the referee blew the final whistle to confirm that the French club had become only the 3rd side to retain the trophy.  Of course, being the class man that he is, he put a hold on celebrations to make sure he shook every member of the opposition’s hands first, even though Billy Vunipola embarrassed himself and stormed off the pitch, ignoring the great man’s offer.  Well done, Billy, you’ve labelled yourself a prat.

It couldn’t ruin Wilko’s day though, and the broad smile that went across his face as he hoisted the trophy aloft is a sight that would have pleased all but the most miserable of rugby fans.  Saracens can hold their heads up – there is no shame in losing to a side like Toulon, and there is no doubt that they are building something special, and that they will learn from this experience.  But Toulon can already call themselves special.  And as Wilkinson leaves the game behind, he can be pretty darned pleased with the club he leaves as well – or should that be dynasty?

Toulon Player Ratings

Delon Armitage – 6 – Solid at the back but precious little opportunity with the ball in hand.

Drew Mitchell – 7 – Pretty quiet aside from 2 key interjections of class in the build up for both tries.

Mathieu Basteraud – 7 – Loses a mark for abysmal drop goal attempt.  Otherwise colossal in defence, and great work in the build up for the second try.

Matt Giteau – 8 – The perfect foil for Wilkinson.  Utter class for the first score and tackled well throughout.

Bryan Habana – 4 – Quiet, and loses a mark for an appalling dive to milk a penalty.

Jonny Wilkinson – 9 – Just typical Wilko.  Lethal from the tee and from hand throughout, and a composed leader when under pressure early on.

Sebastian Tillous-Borde – 6 – No fireworks but sharp service and abrasive play at the fringes.

Xavier Chiocci – 5 – Mauled at scrumtime but his carrying is brutal.

Craig Burden – 7 – Only lasted for 40 minutes but obliterated everyone in the tackle during that time.

Carl Hayman – 6 – Not responsible for the scrum issues and a powerful presence in the loose.

Bakkies Botha – 7 – Stood up to the physical challenge laid down by Saracens and dished out his own punishment.

Danie Roussouw – 4 – He really is a bit of a donkey.  Didn’t catch for most of the game.

Juan Smith – 8 – To think this guy nearly retired.  An omnipresent figure for Toulon and a great try too.

Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe – 7 – Clumsy sending off, but made up for it with colossal work rate, great try assist and fabulous hair.

Steffon Armitage – 9 – Cue the calls for his international call up.  Like a barrel on legs in the carry and immovable over the ball.  Denied Sarries all momentum.  Man of the match.

Subs – Everyone came off the bench and looked sharp, but Ali Williams especially made an impression at the set piece and in the loose upon his introduction.

 

Saracens Player Ratings

Alex Goode – 6 – Not to blame for either try but unable to create much from the back.

Chris Ashton – 7 – Just about Sarries’ brightest attacking threat but the space just wasn’t there.

Marcelo Bosch – 5 – Struggled to contain Bastareaud and was barely seen in attack.

Brad Barritt – 6 – A strong grafting performance, but it wasn’t enough.  Let nobody down.

Dave Strettle – 4 – Invisible in attack, and flew up only to miss Drew Mitchell and open the door for Toulon’s second try.

Owen Farrell – 7 – A couple of sharp breaks and decent kicks couldn’t hide the fact that Wilkinson was once again better on the day.  Still a good showing, though.

Richard Wigglesworth – 5 – Struggled to generate momentum and some of his kicks were ropey.

Mako Vunipola – 5 – Unable to make an impression in the scrum and, surprisingly, in the loose.

Schalk Brits – 5 – The quietest he’s been all season.  Even he couldn’t unlock the Toulon defence.

Matt Stevens – 5 – Won a couple of scrum penalties but, as usual, did his best to give away as many as possible as well.

Steve Borthwick – 6 – And admirable showing once again, leading from the front but found himself out fought.

Alistair Hargreaves – 6 – Defended gamely but struggled to impose himself with the ball in hand.

Kelly Brown – 5 – Not up to the standard of recent weeks.  Seemed to go missing at times.

Jaques Burger – 6 – Ditto above, although a couple of tackles did cause judders in the stands.

Billy Vunipola – 7 – Loses a point due to storming off at the end.  The only player Toulon genuinely struggled to deal with.

Subs – Richard Barrington had a couple of good rumbles but nobody was able to turn it round, sadly.