Mathieu Bastareaud bewildered by Toulon failure

It was not the first time Toulon captain Mathieu Bastareaud had appeared baffled by the events that had unfolded in front of his eyes at Thomond Park on Saturday.

The frustration and confusion he was expressing during the beaten quarter-finalists’ post-match press conference had also visited the bulldozing France centre on the field as he stood over Semi Radradra after the wing had botched an excellent try-scoring opportunity midway through the second half as this enthralling encountered teetered on a knife-edge.

Radradra, the code convert from Australia’s National Rugby League, had the line at his mercy only to spill the ball as he stretched his arm towards the line under pressure from Alex Wootton’s last-ditch tackle. As the ball bobbled loose Radradra’s first sight as he looked up will have been the disbelief on his captain’s face as he stood over him and a similar demeanour returned to Bastareaud as he pondered how Toulon had lost a game they had dominated in terms of possession and territory, enjoying 61 and 60 per cent respectively.