Toulouse 41 Cardiff Blues 17

Toulouse 41 Cardiff Blues 17 Sunday 6 April 4.00pm Stade Municipal, Toulouse Heineken Cup Maxime Medrad gathered and touched down with Elissalde adding the conversion. Toulouse soon got another score when Elissalde struck a long distance penalty. The Blues did have their own opportunities. A good chip through by Dai Flanagan was gathered by Gareth Thomas, who went through middle and ball spread wide to James. The Blues were then awarded a penalty that Blair struck just wide. Another penalty kick saw the Blues gather territory and from the line out they drove before Martyn Williams was pushed into touch. The Blues were getting a lot of territory but the Toulouse defence looked solid. Eventually the Blues got the breakthrough and moved the ball wide. Tom James showed good strength to break the gain line. Spice picked up from the base of the ruck and managed to squeeze himself over for the try. Blair added the conversion. A chip ahead from Elissadle put the Blues under pressure 5 yards out from their try line. From the ruck Toulouse were awarded a penalty and Elissadle was once again accurate. The Blues then looked to attack but a wild pass in midfiled saw Toulouse counter. Gareth Williams tracked back well and Jenkins put in a big hit to stop the move. Toulouse also had their own moment of madness. A wild line out throw saw the ball bounce into the lap of Jamie Roberts. H e was stopped yards short of the tryline, and passed to Shanklin. The centre hurdled the ruck but lost his balance just as Heymans fell on him to prevent the pass. The fullback was shown a yellow card and Blair converted the penalty. However Toulouse hit back straight away when Ellisadle struck a long distance drop goal. Anther charge down saw Nyanga collect and sprint for the line. He was tackled by Thomas and Jason Spice, who was then awarded a yellow card for killing the ball. Ellisadle went for the penalty but struck it wide. Dai Flanagan struck a beautiful penalty kick to the corner to put pressure on Toulouse. From the line out the Blues were awarded a scrum and Flanagan was unlucky with a drop kick that went just wide. Half Time Toulouse 16 Cardiff Blues 10 The Blues were still in the game but Toulouse looked threatening. A good kick first by Shanklin and then by Flanagan gave the Blues good field position and they eventually won a line out in the Toulouse twenty-two. However, Toulouse won the ball back and Elisaddle cleared. It was a tight match with both teams capitalizing on mistakes. Toulouse were starting to dominate territory, however Martyn Williams was his usual excellent self, diving on loose balls and turning over Toulouse ball. The Frenchmen did win a penalty and just on the hour mark Elisaddle again converted. By now Nick Robinson, Yapp and Morgan were all on the pitch as Cardiff tried to catch up, but a piece of magic by Elissable saw the Frenchmen extend their lead. He dummied a drop goal and went right where he linked up with Heymans, who timed his pass to Kunavore to perfection who sprinted in for the try. Jamie Robinson had also come on and made an instant impact. A beautifully angled run saw him cut through the defence and pass inside to Blair to score. He also added the conversion. The score was now 26-17 with just over 10 minutes left. The Blues however were dealt a fatal blow when Toulouse struck back. Second row giant Albacete stormed through the midfield into the twenty two. From there the ball was spread through the backs for Vincent Clerc to score. 33-17 To rub salt in the wound Boulhou scored late on and Heymans dropped a goal to bring the score to 41-17. The Blues had fought well but Toulouse were too strong and now look as once of the favorites for the Heineken Cup. 15 Ben Blair#14 Jamie Roberts#13 Tom Shanklin (65off)#12 Gareth Thomas#11 Tom James#10 Dai Flanagan#(60off) 9 Jason Spice#(72off) 8 Xavier Rush#7 Martyn Williams#6 Mamma Molitika#5 Paul Tito#(52off) 4 Deiniol Jones#3 Taufa’ao Filise#2 Gareth Williams#(64off) 1 Gethin Jenkins (40off) 16 John Yapp (40on)#17 T Rhys Thomas#(64on) 18 Scott Morgan#(52on) 19 Ben White#20 Richie Rees#(72on) 21 Nicky Robinson#(60on) 22 Jamie Robinson (65on) Cardiff Blues Toulouse Tries Spice x 1 Medrad x 1 Blair x 1 Kunavore x 1 Clerc x 1 Boulhou x1 Conversions Blair x 2 Elissadle x 3 Drop Goal Elissadle x 1 Heymans x 1 Penalties Blair x 1 Elissadle x 3