Following a 38-15 victory over Sale Sharks in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 clash at the Stadium de Toulouse on Sunday, here’s our player ratings for Toulouse.
15 Thomas Ramos: Another rock steady outing from the full-back as he kicked well off the tee and showed good vision when in possession whether that was with the pass or finding territory. 6
14 Ange Capuozzo: Demonstrated his ability to step an opponent in a phone box on more than one occasion. His solo try late in the game was out of the top drawer but bittersweet as he suffered a serious looking injury in the act of scoring. 8
13 Pierre Louis Barassi: Made inroads with a barnstorming carry in the first half and his ability to go from nought to 100mph really caught the eye. 7
12 Pita Ahki: Not as destructive with ball in hand as he so often is but was a solid foil to Romain Ntamack and blended nicely with Barassi. 6
11 Blair Kinghorn: Got his hands on the ball on several occasions in the opening half and was always a handful when doing so. Such a rangy runner whose versatility will stand him in good stead for the Lions later this year. 7
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10 Romain Ntamack: Struck a lovely 50:22 in the second half and had moments of quality but they were not as frequent as he would have hoped. Ntamack was replaced on 65 minutes with the game still in the balance. 6
9 Paul Graou: In the massive shoes of Antoine Dupont, Graou completed a Dupont-like steal at the breakdown close to his own line and gave a good account of himself. 7
The forwards
8 Alexandre Roumat: Emptied the tank for the cause before he was replaced on 55 minutes. Facing this Sale pack requires doing the unseen things well and Roumat ticked that box. 6
7 Jack Willis: Showed his power to barge over from close range with just two minutes on the clock and sent another message to Lions head coach Andy Farrell that he should be on the plane to Australia later this year. 8
6 Francois Cros: Powered over the try-line early in the second half after an uncharacteristic opening 40 minutes. That score brought Toulouse level and showed what a specimen the France flanker is. 7
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5 Emmanuel Meafou: Not as destructive as in previous outings and that’s credit to Sale’s defence. Replaced on the hour and will hope to have a more prominent day at the office against Toulon. 5
4 Thibaud Flament: Such a mobile second-row and he was a steady lineout option and carrier for Toulouse. Such a key cog in this Toulouse machine. 7
3 Dorian Aldegheri: Gave away a penalty at the breakdown in the first half and was penalised at scrum time against Simon McIntyre nine minutes into the second. That was his last act as Joel Merkler came on. 4
2 Julien Marchand: Fairly quiet in the first half and Sale will be pleased they negated his breakdown threat too. Did get a try just before the hour mark that bumps him up a mark. 7
1 David Ainuu: Came off at the same time as Aldegheri after a pretty solid outing around the field and at scrum time. 6
Replacements: Plenty to be proud of here from the substitutes as Guillaume Cramont crossed while Joel Merkler had a try disallowed. There were also strong moments for Anthony Jelonch, Rodrigue Neti, Juan Cruz Mallia and Paul Costes, who had some joy with ball in hand. 8