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E. Marks (5'), B. Stevenson (49')
Tries
P. Graou (24'), S. Chocobares (31'), T. Thomas (46'), B. Kinghorn (68')
M. Lafage (6', 49')
Conversions
R. Ntamack (24', 31', 47')
M. Lafage (2', 30')
Penalties
R. Ntamack (38')
A. Bouthier (20')
Drop Goals
This felt like a lesson in margins. Stade Toulousain didn’t dominate possession or territory, but their Top 14 savvy bled through the moments that mattered. Whether in Vannes or in the bigger Rennes setting many expected for this “home” date, the promoted club asked questions early. The champions answered them with cleaner set piece, sharper strike running and a late-game calm that Vannes couldn’t quite match.
What we learned is that Vannes can live at this level for long stretches, but the jump in decision speed at the gain line and the ruthlessness inside the 22 still belongs to Toulouse. When the game tilted into an exchanges-and-entries contest, Toulouse’s experience showed. Three of their four tries came off first-phase or quick-strike ball; Vannes needed volume to build points.
Toulouse’s edge was structural as much as it was individual. They went 100% at scrum and lineout, a platform that allowed Santiago Chocobares and Paul Graou to keep punching holes. Chocobares repeatedly got north–south, finishing with the sort of meters and clean breaks that warp a defensive line, and Graou’s tempo change produced the first Toulouse try. With only 45% of the ball, they still beat far more defenders, a cleaner clue than the scoreboard as to where the game lived.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The hinge moments cut both ways. Vannes were 13–0 up with Anthony Bouthier cool enough to take a drop goal, but Toulouse didn’t panic when Cyril Baille was binned; they actually scored through Chocobares while down a man. After the break, Teddy Thomas finished a strike to stretch the lead, only for Vannes to fire back instantly via Ben Stevenson. At 23–24 it was there for the taking. Then Stevenson’s yellow card arrived on 58 minutes. Toulouse didn’t dash off the scoreboard straight away, but the ten-minute squeeze mattered: field position, pressure, and eventually Blair Kinghorn sliding in the decisive score just as the sin-bin window closed. That was the difference — champions banking seven when a tight game offers one chance.
For Vannes, the bones are good. Their lineout (15/17) functioned, Eric Marks was immense — try scored and 15 tackles — and Joseph Edwards carried with purpose off 8. Maxime Lafage managed the opening quarter well off the tee and with ball in hand, and Bouthier’s boot gave them access. But 55% possession for only two tries tells its own story. They missed 21 tackles, and when they did stress Toulouse’s backfield they couldn’t stack scores. The Stevenson yellow will sting in review; so will conceding points immediately after Toulouse’s card in the first half. Those are composure beats you have to win to nick big games.
Toulouse’s individuals did the cutting. Chocobares’ numbers leap off the sheet, but Graou’s line break and finish at 24 minutes changed the mood when Vannes were on top. Kinghorn asked questions all night from full-back and picked the right line for the clincher. Romain Ntamack was tidy from the tee and slippery enough in traffic to keep Vannes honest on inside shoulders. There are work-ons, though. Eighteen turnovers is too many — Thomas alone coughed up five, Kinghorn four — and against a heavier maul side that perfect lineout will be forced to defend more five-metre sets. The bench was a net positive in control rather than fireworks; they didn’t need Antoine Dupont to rescue anything, just to help close.
Does the margin flatter Toulouse? Not really. Six points feels about right when one team is more clinical. Vannes had the ball and some territory, Toulouse had the cleaner chances. If anything, Vannes will feel they left a losing bonus behind given how long they sat within a score and how much possession they banked. The difference was the quality of their contacts once they crossed the gain line and the discipline of their defense once Toulouse shifted phase speed.
So the takeaways are clear. RC Vannes can carry a fight to a champion, but they need to harden up around their red-zone defense and be more ruthless with front-foot sets; Toulon next is a chance to turn industry into points. Toulouse leave with exactly what four-in-a-row sides collect on awkward “away” nights: a composed win, strike runners in form and reminders that their breakdown carelessness still needs tidying before Montpellier roll into view.
