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T. Ntamack (22'), T. Thomas (30', 61'), R. Ntamack (40+2'), A. Dupont (49', 50')
Tries
J. Echegaray (36'), L. Akrab (64'), A. Vincent (71')
T. Ramos (22', 40+3', 49', 51', 62')
Conversions
Penalties
A. Hastings (15')
This rerun didn’t settle a grudge so much as reaffirm a pecking order. Toulouse were the sharper side in contact, cleaner at set piece and ruthless when the game presented a crease. Montpellier had carrying punch and turned plenty of ball over, but they lacked the defensive precision to live with the champions once the tempo went up.
The oddity is that Toulouse spent 20 minutes of the first half with 14 men and still went to the sheds in control. That told you plenty. Where Montpellier failed to capitalise on front-foot ball and numerical advantage, Toulouse took their moments. A try to Romain Ntamack on the stroke of half-time flipped a scrappy, physical contest into one where the hosts had the scoreboard and the speed.
The real break in the rope came straight after the interval. Wilfrid Hounkpatin was binned on 45 minutes and Antoine Dupont struck twice in the next five – carbon-copy punishment of a defence short on numbers and shoulders. That 10-minute window, bookended by a yellow card, is why this finished with daylight. It wasn’t pretty, but it was decisive.
Strip it back and the numbers support the picture. Toulouse owned the edges, 12 clean breaks to four, and beat 30 defenders to Montpellier’s 22. Their lineout was near flawless at 11 from 12, while Montpellier’s 79% return offered just enough loose ball for the hosts to transition. Discipline mattered too: nine penalties conceded by Montpellier to six, and that one yellow at the worst possible time.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Individual performances told the same story. Dupont was the game’s fulcrum, 115 metres on 13 carries with nine defenders beaten and four offloads. When the game opened, he put it away. Teddy Thomas finished with a brace as well – clinical on the right edge – a neat redemption after an early yellow. Ntamack’s control was understated but real: 10 tackles, a try at 40+2 and composure when Toulouse were down men. Up front, Thibaud Flament quietly dominated with 18 tackles and hard carries, while makeshift back-row balance without Jack Willis and François Cros held thanks to the graft of Efrain Elias (14 tackles) and a heavy-legged but effective shift from Théo Ntamack (12 carries, 66 metres and the opener).
There were Montpellier bright spots. Alexander Masibaka and Justo Piccardo both dented the gain line – 87 and 75 metres respectively – and Jon Echegaray looked their most dangerous back with 69 metres and the first Montpellier try. Bastien Chalureau worked himself to a standstill in defence. They also pinched more turnovers (10) than Toulouse (six), which is no mean feat at Ernest-Wallon. But it was a messy sort of pressure. Too often the next touch was inaccurate, a ruck seal was late, or the ball went to ground on phase two. When they finally found width, it was while chasing at 40–8: Lyam Akrab and Arthur Vincent claimed late tries that trimmed the margin without changing the shape of the night.
If you’re looking for where Montpellier lost it, start with those two passages either side of half-time. They had 14-on-15 twice in the first 40 and banked just three points before Echegaray’s strike; then handed Toulouse the reverse situation right after the break and conceded 14 unanswered. Add 28 missed tackles and a lineout that wobbled enough to starve their maul, and you get why they were often defending resets in their own third.
For Toulouse, the win says as much about depth as it does about spark. No Emmanuel Meafou, no Tommaso Menoncello, and key back-rowers not involved, yet a pack still hit 154 tackles and a backline asked constant questions. The work-ons are real, mind: two yellows in the first quarter, 16 turnovers coughed up, and a defensive blot in the 13 channel where Kalvin Gourgues missed six tackles. Against a side with crisper edge shape that could hurt.
Does 40–18 flatter them? Not really. At 40–8 on the hour, it arguably could have been uglier. Montpellier’s late scores were deserved for effort, but they arrived once the contest was already dislodged by the Hounkpatin bin and Dupont’s burst. The gap reflected Toulouse’s advantage in strike play and control of the set piece.
What does each take from it? Toulouse bank the points and the reassurance that their red-zone game is still lethal, even when rhythm is broken by cards. They top the table and know the ceiling is higher once discipline and ball security tighten. Montpellier leave with evidence they can win collisions and disrupt rucks away from home, but that isn’t enough at Ernest-Wallon. If they want to trouble top sides consistently, the defensive spacing and tackle completion have to jump, and the breakdown wins must translate into field position and points, not just numbers on a sheet. Next week, that’s the assignment.
