They've a talented squad but man-management is what makes Toulon special, says Dewi Morris

They've used money to buy a good squad, but Toulon's success is down to player management rather than talent alone, says Sky Sports pundit Dewi Morris.

Live European Rugby Champions Cup

This weekend I am off to France to cover Ulster's trip to Toulon in Round 5 of the Champions Cup. I am hoping that Ulster live up to their potential and give the fans a good game, but the reality is that Toulon will take some stopping - especially at home. They look to be odds-on for a home quarter-final and I don't who will change that.

Gitueau not only runs fantastic lines, but he runs the backs with authority too.

The topic of Toulon has been well-covered but I think one of the unfair descriptions of the squad is that they're a bunch of individual stars that have been lured over as hired guns rather than team players. The fact is, Toulon has built their dynasty on an ethos of team-work and high standards from each individual.

The players aren't allowed to have a bad game. Not only because they don't want to let the coaches and the fans down, but they don't want to let down their team-mates.

They all seem to have shed the mercenaries tag in favour of a team spirit that continues to impress me. Rugby is the ultimate team sport; without a good team dynamic a team of stars will not win trophies.

Attitude

The fact that Toulon have gone on to win back-to-back European titles and are defending Top 14 champions says more about their attitude towards each other than it does about their talent as individuals.

Toulon caught a bit of a bad reputation in France when they went about shopping for a team; a lot of people thought they were trying to lure the most talented rugby players to their shores with no regard for the team dynamic. That line of thought seems to be all but erased these days, or at least stands without much foundation.

With the way rugby is as a sport you simply can't win tournaments on talent alone - you need cohesion and you need communication. If the forwards don't gel, you won't win ball. If the backs don't communicate then they won't score tries.

When you get a team that consists of Matt Giteau, Juan Smith and Carl Hayman, you aren't really going to be teaching them much about the game. What's important for the Toulon coaches is that they need to master man-management in the team, and they appear to have done just that.

Silverware

The fact that these players are playing like youngsters just starting in the game is down to the responsibility they feel to one another and the responsibility they have to justify their selection. If you're starting a game and there is someone on the bench who has won a World Cup, you know you can't afford to have a bad performance or next week you'll be starting from the bench.

But that doesn't mean to say that they don't have talent in their ranks. This is the first year that Toulon have been without a certain Jonny Wilkinson, and while it is a big loss to the team, they've shown that they are just as capable of winning without him.

The reason for that, I feel, is down to Matt Giteau. Everyone praised Jonny for the way he distributed to the backline and he was indeed a world-class player, but for me a lot of his success is down to Matt Giteau. Giteau not only runs fantastic lines, but he runs the backs with authority too. I talked about how the coaches need to man-manage and the same goes for the experienced players in the team.

Captain of the team Carl Hayman has said that he will be retiring at the end of this season and would like to bow out with some silverware. With the way things finished for the last captain of the club, and the way the team has continued to play this season, I can see it happening too.