Racing 92-21-22 Toulouse: 14-man Toulouse hold out Racing
Last Updated: 31/03/19 6:58pm
Toulouse overcame the first-half dismissal of Zack Holmes to claim a 22-21 win over Racing 92 in a thrilling Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final.
Holmes was sent off for a high tackle on Juan Imhoff midway through the first half with his side trailing 10-7, but tries from Maxime Medard and Antoine Dupont, his second of the game, gave Toulouse the upper hand.
Maxime Machenaud reduced the gap to three points with two penalties in the second half and although a penalty from Thomas Ramos gave Toulouse a 22-16 lead, the home side had a chance to snatch victory when Camille Chat went over in the corner.
However, Machenaud could not land the difficult conversion and the home side also had a try from Leone Nakarawa disallowed in the closing minutes after he was penalised for an infringement at the lineout.
Toulouse got off to the perfect start when scrum-half Dupont spotted a gap in the line and took full advantage, diving over the try line after some lovely hands from the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Romain Ntamack.
Racing looked to hit back immediately and scrum-half Maxime Machenaud was able to pop over the penalty and trim the gap.
Finn Russell created Racing's first try when he read a Toulouse pass to perfection and intercepted it in his own 22 before breaking away. With the cover defence steaming down on him, he calmly put in a perfectly weighted kick for Teddy Thomas to collect who gratefully received it and dived over.
Momentum seemed to swing in the direction of Racing after Holmes was sent off, but the home side could not make it count, seeming to rush everything which became a common theme for them as the game went on.
Toulouse took full advantage with both teams on equal terms for 10 minutes when Teddy Thomas was sin-binned for cynical play at thye breakdown and the visitors regained the lead when Medard touched down at the end of a brilliant collective move.
Dupont, who had moved into the fly-half role after Holmes was sent-off, scored his second try just before halftime as Ntamack's conversion put them 19-10 up.
Racing came breathing down their opponents' necks with a couple of penalties, only for Ramos's three-pointer to give the visitors a five-point lead with 12 minutes left.
Chat restored hope for the Racing , who played another 10 minutes with 14 men after Imhoff was sanctioned in the 66th minute, when he dived into the right corner even though Machenaud failed to convert.
With time running out, Racing threw everything at Toulouse who produced a superb defensive display. Leone Nakarawa thought he had won it for the hosts but had his try disallowed for an earlier fault at the lineout.
Toulouse's defence had the final say of the day, eventually helping the visitors rip the ball from the final possession and win a penalty as the clock turned red.
They will travel to Dublin to face Leinster Rugby at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Sunday, 21 April in their Heineken Champions Cup semi-final.
