Champions Cup: Toulon 15-11 Wasps
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 18/01/16 11:24am
A Drew Mitchell try in the last play of the game handed Toulon a 15-11 win over Wasps in the Champions Cup on Sunday.
Wasps had trailed throughout the game before a Guy Thompson try put them 11-8 up with ten minutes remaining. The Premiership side held out until the final play of the game, where Mitchell ran a brilliant line off the pass of Ma'a Nonu with no time remaining to break Wasps hearts from close range.
The loss leaves Wasps in second place in Pool 5, one point off first-place Toulon. Wasps are still in contention to qualify for the quarter-finals with a visit from Leinster in the final round of the group stages, while Toulon travel to the Rec to take on Bath.
It was game in which momentum swung both ways, and it was Toulon who opened the scoring after running the ball from deep. Josua Tuisova broke down the wing before releasing Quade Cooper to score near the poles. Despite the relatively easy opportunity, the conversion from Eric Escande was sent wide.
Elliot Daly then called for the kicking tee when Toulon infringed just inside their half, but sent the attempt wide.
Bryan Habana was on the attack shortly thereafter, with the Springbok winger putting in a chip over the defence for himself to chase. Wasps' George Smith was closing in on the flyer as he kicked the ball, and when Smith and Habana clashed Nigel Owens sent Smith to the bin for taking Habana out illegally.
Escande slotted the penalty that came with the yellow card to make it 8-0 to Toulon after 23 minutes.
Wasps held on throughout the remainder of the half, with Jimmy Gopperth adding a penalty to reduce the deficit to five points going into the break.
The third quarter remained scoreless, but it was a period in which Wasps revealed themselves as the more dangerous of the two sides, with frustrating handling errors ending attacking threats as they consistently punched holes in the Toulon defence.
Freddie Michalak did have a shot at goal for the home side on the hour mark, but send the effort to the wrong side of the uprights.
Gopperth made no such mistake when Toulon brought a maul down in the 63rd minute as the Wasps fly-half made it a two-point game.
Toulon threatened to become the next side on the scoreboard, but a hobbling Michalak put another shot at goal wide and Wasps could smell an upset.
What seemed like the winning score came from a pass down the left touchline to Wasps No 8 Guy Thompson, who rampaged through a series of ineffective tackles from the Frenchmen to dot down in the corner with ten minutes remaining.
Wasps held out bravely for all ten of those minutes, but Toulon still had the ball with 80 minutes gone, and after a patiently holding onto the ball in the opposition 22m, a gap opened for Mitchell who burst through to snatch an incredible victory from the visitors.
