Toulouse v Leinster 21.10.18 | 15:15 Local KO | BT Sport 3 | Preview & Match Thread

Leinster's opening round victory against Wasps has brought with it unprecedented levels of hype along with questions around salary caps, academy structures and the IRFU's management of player resources in Ireland's provincial setup.

At this point enough column inches, forum threads and podcast minutes have been dedicated to Leinster and a more interesting use of this preamble might be to look at our opponents on Sunday - Stade Toulousain.


History & Trivia

Toulouse, located in the south of France is believed to have been settled over 2000 years ago when Celts arrived in the Garonne Valley from central Europe. The earliest Roman records are from a settlement in 2AD in a northern part of the region.

Toulouse is the largest centre for Aerospace in Europe and houses Airbuses European Headquarters.

Founded in 1907, Stade Toulousain or Toulouse Rugby are easily the most decorated club in French rugby history. They are joint record Heineken cup winners with four wins in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008. They have won the French League a record 19 times, their most recent win being in 2012.

In Europe their recent record is poor. They didn't qualify last season for the Champions cup and failed to exit the pool stages in the Challenge cup picking up just 2 wins. In 2015 / 16 season they lost all but 1 pool game in the Champions cup.

The 13/14 season was the last time they ventured beyond the pools only to be knocked out by Munster in the quarter finals and their last semi final was a narrow defeat to Leinster in 10/11 season.

Toulouse currently lie 6th in the Top 14 with 4 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.

Despite traditionally being a key supplier to the French national team, Toulouse only have three players in Brunel's squad for November.

Head to Head in Europe
We've never shared a pool in Europe with Toulouse In 07/08 and 97/98 we shared a pool with Toulouse. In 97/98 we lost home and away by an aggregate of 72 - 44. In 07/08 Leinster beat Toulouse in the home fixture 20 - 13 but received an absolute thumping away - losing 33 - 6.

We have plenty of history with them in the tournament from a knock out perspective also with Leinster winning 2 of the 3 previous encounters (all knock outs).

05/06 Toulouse 35 - 41 Leinster (QF)
09/10 Toulouse 26 - 16 Leinster (SF)
01/11 Toulouse 23 - 32 Leinster (SF)

Attacking Threat
I've tried to pull highlight examples that are representative of Toulouse's style of play having watched back a few of their top14 fixtures from this season. It's easy to identify passages of play to confirm a perception but I've done my best to provide examples that are trademark Toulouse.

They play an attractive brand of rugby with an emphasis on keeping the ball alive. Their forward play is nothing particularly complicated or flashy but they can move the ball between forwards and backs seamlessly:



Their forward play doesn't amount to a huge amount more than one out runners and pick and goes but given the size of their pack it's enough of a platform for the backs to do damage. Here they attack from inside their half and despite La Rochelle never losing their defensive shape, Toulouse are in for a try within 10 phases.



They love to counter attack and have plenty of variety to their exits:



When they do kick they always have runners after the ball and from 9 - 15 they can counter ruck and turnover when they isolate an opposition carrier. Having turned over the ball in the below image they go in to score a few moments later. Larmour and Tomane are going to be busy.



Worth mentioning the Kolbe factor - will be a handful for Tomane and Lowe and is a good foil for the older more experienced Médard.



Stuart Lancaster talks about comfort in chaos which describes Toulouse as well as it describes Leinster. Toulouse are far less prescribed in attack than Leinster which makes them a highly entertaining team - but it also limits them against teams that play with aggressive line speed and a strong breakdown game so Leinster will look to close them down early and often. Van derFlier will be key for Leinster, his ability to continually cover ground over 80 minutes has kept a few notches off Leinsters negative score board this season and he could have a significant impact tomorrow with another big performance.

They're down a number of options in the front row, but in their win over Racing earlier this season they scored off the scrum early doors and Leinsters scrum hasn't set the world on fire this season.



The Teams

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Romain Ntamack, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Selevasio Tolofua, 7 Alban Placines, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Julien Marchand (c), 1 Clément Castets
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 David Faimafiliotama’ita’i Ainuu, 18 Maks Van Dyk, 19 Pierre Gayraud, 20 Louis Madaule, 21 Yoann Huget, 22 Antoine Dupont, 23 Arthur Bonneval

Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton, (c) 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Scott Fardy, 20 Seán O’Brien, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rory O’Loughlin

What the media are saying

L'Equipe
"Co-holders of the record of titles in European Cup, Toulouse and Leinster will face Sunday at Ernest-Wallon. With Irish considered favourites for the title, a status formerly endorsed by the Toulouse."

Le Parisien
"Toulouse will need more than a last minute save by Médard to defeat the champions this weekend"

What the Coach says:

Ugo Mola: Against Leinster you have to come up with something different, that is what I have challenged from my players

What the bookies say
Leinster Currently sit at -8

Final word
Leinster are difficult opposition for any team, but they could be a real handful for Toulouse. Leinster excels at turning the breakdown into a tar pit and this could badly disrupt Toulouse who are completely reliant on quick ball.

Toulouse will test Leinster's lauded defence more than any team this season and will be kicking to Larmour and Tomane early as a means to gain a foothold inside the Leinster half.

In seasons gone by we've been vulnerable to teams that can quickly and accurately get around the sides. We've adapted in part by having our midfield push aggressively to keep the play narrow but given how Toulouse avoid going to ground we'll have to think on our feet and make sure our tackling is accurate.

A high missed tackle rate will hand the game to Toulouse.

The point remains however that we've an awful lot more to neutralise their play style than they do ours. If we play tight they lack the ground game to upset our momentum and their discipline will give Sexton plenty of opportunities to kick us ahead on the scoreboard.

Their mid field has leaked a huge number of line breaks this season and much like our first score after the break last week I think Toulouse will struggle with Leinster's ability to have multiple decoy's all in a position to receive the ball of first or second receiver.

It's going to be a big test, Toulouse will be well drilled to face Leinster and it will be a game they've lined up from a few weeks out.

If Leinster are 5% more clinical in the first half than in the first half last week we'll be ahead at the break. Unless Toulouse have built a lead going into the final 30 they could struggle with the firepower Leinster have to bring off the bench, especially in the front row where Toulouse are down to bare bones.

I think Leinster will win by between 15 - 20 points. We can fling it around just as well as Toulouse, but we've also got two sleeves full to the cuffs with tricks and invention and our pack are better placed to deliver a platform which we can fully utilise. I don't think the Toulouse forwards are going to be able to deliver the time and space Toulouse will need get wide of Leinster and I think the contest will be over before the final quarter.

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

Head to Head in Europe
We've never shared a pool in Europe with Toulouse however we have plenty of history with them in the tournament with Leinster winning 2 of the 3 previous encounters (all knock outs).

05/06 Toulouse 35 - 41 Leinster (QF)
09/10 Toulouse 26 - 16 Leinster (SF)
01/11 Toulouse 23 - 32 Leinster (SF).

07/08 and 97/98 we shared a pool with Toulouse.

sydthebeat

You must have been working on that for days... And it shows!!

Top class Venjur

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

07/08 and 97/98 we shared a pool with Toulouse.

My bad, I will edit this in - google has failed me

clsmooth

Now that’s what I call a preview :cool:

scott1974

It's like a Murray Kinsella article..good job.

Clegg

Leinster by 40.

Buer

I need no excuse to post these. The first is the most Leinster try I know of from the 2000-2010 period. The second is possibly simply the best try executed Leinster try I know of, period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFuVyB0R2hU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pksH-ttiSu4

Clegg

Last week I was certain we'd see Fardy starting this game. His physicality in the tight would be essential for this game. But Dev is playing so well he just can't be dropped at the moment. For me Fardy was our bets player last season, but such is the competition at Leinster that others are currently keeping him out of the starting 15.

One area where we definitely need to improve is at the set piece. We lost too many of our own lineouts against Wasps so Dev is needed there. Possession from set piece is a must if we're to win away against any French side.

fitz

sydthebeat wrote: »

You must have been working on that for days... And it shows!!

Top class Venjur

All it's missing is a nice table.

Dave_The_Sheep

I'm a bit wary of the insane levels of hype and almost arrogance being shown online (and in some media) about Leinster this year. Defending champions is one thing, but we're only one game into the European season. I'm full sure the players have their feet on the ground with Cullen and Lancaster anchoring them there, but I just wish it trickled down to some segments of the fanbase.

Nothing to do with Venjur's intro, cracking post, but it's something I've noticed a lot in the last few weeks here and elsewhere (e.g. the subreddit).

So yeah, Leinster by a million or something.

stephen_n

I have no idea why people think the players will buy into the hype and start thinking all they have to do is turn up. Regardless of everything else, nearly every player is playing for their jersey every time they put it on. The level of competition is as much of a motivator in performance as anything else. Any media done by any member of the squad always refers to the opposition with respect, there is no arrogance on display what so ever. Sexton in the interview after the Wasps game talked about the room to improve and the errors. There is absolutely nothing coming from the squad that suggests they are complacent in any way. They are determined and focused on a goal. Some fans and some journos can say whatever they want, it doesn’t mean the team will buy into it.

We are the best team in Europe at the moment and we should be looking to win every game. This is rugby though and anything can happen in 80 mins, so there are never any guarantees. Just the next obstacle to overcome, which today is Toulouse.

thomond2006

That Toulouse lineup is a far cry from the days of Servat, Boulihou, JBE, Jauzion and Clerc.

troyzer

Buer wrote: »

I need no excuse to post these. The first is the most Leinster try I know of from the 2000-2010 period. The second is possibly simply the best try executed Leinster try I know of, period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFuVyB0R2hU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pksH-ttiSu4

I forgot how fast Hickie was. Absolute speed demon.

Dave_The_Sheep

stephen_n wrote: »

I have no idea why people think the players will buy into the hype and start thinking all they have to do is turn up. Regardless of everything else, nearly every player is playing for their jersey every time they put it on. ... Some fans and some journos can say whatever they want, it doesn’t mean the team will buy into it.

In case you're referring to me, I don't think the team is buying into it, and said as much. It's more the tosh from some fans (online and not) and across some media.

CatFromHue

troyzer wrote: »

I forgot how fast Hickie was. Absolute speed demon.

Hickie was great, I'd still have him as the best Irish winger since 2000.

degsie

Any good pubs around st stevens green to watch this?

troyzer

degsie wrote: »

Any good pubs around st stevens green to watch this?

Sinnotts.

Kevski

degsie wrote: »

Any good pubs around st stevens green to watch this?

The Swan is a decent spot. The owners father played on the Lions team that beat the All Blacks in 1971.

http://publin.ie/2017/watch-the-lions-in-dublins-rugby-pub-the-swan/

kuang1

Looking forward to this.
Good luck Leinster... No injuries please!

Squidgy Black

Thread titles wrong, it's on BT Sports 2

Shefwedfan

By said winning streak of 6 games?????

Clegg

Ugh bricking it now.

Need lineout to be so much better than last week.

Hurrache

troyzer wrote: »

Sinnotts.

Caters for the latter of his question, not so much the former!

Heymans

Leinster can indeed be put out of this tournament by slipping up away from home and not getting a home semi. We could easily conceivably lose to Racing or Sarries away from home. All that said I expect a B P win today

Stupid smoke.

leakyboots

Thought that could be a yellow for Lowe

bilston

I'm surprised Barnes didn't go to the TMO there.

vienne86

Good kick, dammit.

Larbre34

Raylan Shapely Type wrote: »

Stupid smoke.

Aviva has been guilty on occasion

Stheno

leakyboots wrote: »

Thought that could be a yellow for Lowe

Same here

vienne86

Ah Christ. Awful start.

part time punk

Buer wrote: »

I need no excuse to post these. The first is the most Leinster try I know of from the 2000-2010 period. The second is possibly simply the best try executed Leinster try I know of, period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pksH-ttiSu4

Great Hickie try. But My inner Joe Schmidt says that neither Hickie not Darcy draw their man properly and make that try harder than it needed to be.

troyzer

Terrible start.

A-Train

Terrible start

Larbre34

Toulouse havent the conditioning to sustain this, we will get in behind them sooner than later.

PS Tomane worries me so much

vienne86

6 minutes, 6 points to Toulouse. Wakey wakey Leinster.

Squidgy Black

We're looking brutal here.

That was a seriously long advantage there however.

mangobob

Its not just the points conceded though. Its the momentum and psychological boost that Toulouse will derive from this start. If there is one nationality you don't want to see with their tails up its the French.

prawnsambo

Squidgy Black wrote: »

We're looking brutal here.

That was a seriously long advantage there however.

They tend to be for penalties unless there's a serious territorial gain.

vienne86

What did Tomane think he was doing there?

Clegg

Wow.

We really haven't started well at all.

bilston

Did Wayne Barnes just give his touch judge a bit of a rollicking there?

troyzer

We need some ball to settle down.

Squidgy Black

I really have the jitters about Tomane.

Larbre34

Is McFadden unavailable?

lambayire

Who was Wayne Bloody Barnes saying "No More" to there?

There was no player in his eyeline there.
Was he taking to the touch judge.

Such an odd man.

Former Former

Larbre34 wrote: »

Is McFadden unavailable?

Seems to be injured. Didn't train during the week

vienne86

Calm needed. TG we have a scrum.

bilston

mangobob wrote: »

Who was Barnes addressing with those no more comments? The only person in front of him was the linesman when he said that

It definitely looked like he was having a go at his touch judge, or maybe it was the TMO?

Clegg

That's all on Cronin.