Munster clash will be ‘all or nothing,’ insists Wilkinson
In a game littered with errors, penalties and aimless kicking, it was the re-born Wilkinson, who finally provided the difference to these two sides, when he sent his fellow compatriot Paul Sackey over in the corner with five minutes left.
“The problem with this tournament – and it’s a nice problem really – is that if you look at the group, there’s not going to be a great deal of sleep the night before the game,” joked Wilkinson afterwards. “We do know we’ll have to give 100%. It’s going to be all or nothing [at Thomond Park] or else we know we’re going to feel the pain.”
The Ospreys will have cursed their luck at the final whistle because this was a game that got away from them. They went ahead on the hour mark following an opportunist try from Shane Williams and looked comfortable defending up to the last few minutes against an increasingly desperate-looking home side. But as Munster showed London Irish on Saturday, switching off before the final whistle is a crime in the Heineken Cup.
“Today, Jonny showed his class,” said Toulon coach Philippe Saint André. With a tough month of Top 14 and Heineken Cup games to come and a sprinkling of injuries, Saint André’s selection against the Ospreys was some way from full strength with the names of captain Joe Van Niekerk, All Black prop Carl Hayman and Felipe Contepomi missing from the panel. Saint André admitted he would be making changes for the trip to Limerick.
“We’ll change some players and rest a few. Guys like Felipe Contepomi will start next week.”
The first half was a sloppy affair, with both sides conceding a litany of penalties at the breakdown but it was the Ospreys who were happier with their lot at half time, going in at 6-6. However within thirty seconds of the restart, they were behind thanks to a Wilkinson penalty after Jerry Collins was penalised for blocking.
The former All Black and Toulon flanker was jeered by the crowd all afternoon but he was a constant menace at the breakdown. He was helped by the fact that Toulon seemed to be straight-jacketed by their tactics, preferring to keep the ball tight before using the metronomic talents of Wilkinson to kick penalties and drop goals.
That game-plan seemed to be in ruins on 59 minutes when Williams, who’d seen precious little ball, found a gap on the blindside of a ruck and darted down the wing to score. Toulon responded by upping their tempo and brought the score back to 12-14 with another Wilkinson penalty. Minutes later, he struck again, delivering a beautiful miss pass to Sackey, who raced down the wing to score and win the match for Toulon.
Saint André insisted that they would go to Limerick with no expectations or pressure. “I went there two times with Sale [Sharks] and we got 40 points put on us. It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere and a physical test.”
TOULON: Lamont; Sackey, Kefu, Messina, Lapeyre (Marienval, 65); Wilkinson, Henjak (Magnaval, 59); Taumopeau (Basteres, 61), Orioli (Ivaldi, 59), Kubriashvili, Schofield (Suta, 59), Samson, Missoup, Smith, Fernandez Lobbe
OSPREYS: Byrne; Bowe, Bishop, Hook, Williams (Walker, 67); Biggar, Phillips; James, Hibbard (Bennett, 57), Jones, Gough (Jones, 52), Jones, Collins (Tipuric, 77), Holah, Thomas
Referee: Alan Lewis (Irl).
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