Toulouse returned to the top of Heineken Cup Pool Two on Saturday thanks to a 35-14 win over Treviso in wet conditions at Stade Ernest Wallon.
It was mission accomplished for Toulouse as they outscored their visitors five tries to one to claim a precious bonus-point.
The result means that the French club move two points clear of Leicester and sets up a massive showdown with Tigers at Welford Road next week.
The four-time champions didn't have it all their own way however and needed to find an extra gear in the second period after being held at 14-all at half time.
The hosts' formidable pack ultimately proved the undoing of Treviso, who were unable to match Toulouse's power at scrum time.
Treviso scrum-half Tobias Botes opened the scoring early on from the kicking tee but it didn't take Toulouse long to strike back as hooker Gary Botha scored from short range after a dart toward the line by Luke Burgess.
The Italian visitors were back in front just three minutes later though. Luke McAlister threw a wayward pass under pressure from Robert Barbieri and Andrea Pratichetti picked up the loose ball to bolt clear. Tommaso Benvenuti was up in support and showed the Toulouse defence a clean pair of heals to score.
The Treviso scrum was under massive pressure however and after series and resets and advantages played by referee Wayne Barnes, Toulouse lock Patricio Albacete crashed over under the sticks. McAlister added his second conversion to put the hosts up 14-11.
Toulouse were well on top but Botes landed a monster penalty on the stroke of half time to send the teams into the changing rooms all square.
Toulouse came out breathing fire in the second half and with an entirely new front row. The new faces emulated their team-mates' domination at scrum time though and Treviso prop Michele Rizzo paid the price, seeing yellow just minutes after coming on himself.
The hosts next try followed immediately thereafter as Vincent Clerc collected McAlsiter's cross-field kick to score untouched.
Florian Fritz was next to cross the line and claim the bonus point after a break by Albacete and a long pass wide from McAlister.
Yoann Huget added his named to the scorecard in the final minute with a long-range try.
The scorers:
For Toulouse:
Tries: Botha, Albacete, Clerc, Fritz, Huget
Cons: McAlister 5
Yellow card: Tolofua (72nd min - high tackle)
For Treviso:
Try: Benvenuti
Pens: Botes 3
Yellow card: Michele Rizzo (43rd min - scrum infringements)
Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Louis Picamoles , 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Grégory Lamboley, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Vasil Kakovin.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Sylvain Nicolas, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Maxime Médard, 23 Gaël Fickou.
Treviso: 15 Giiulio Toniolatti, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Andrea Pratichetti, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Luca Morisi, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Dean Budd, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Valerio Bernabo, 4 Antonio Pavanello, 3 Alberto de Marchi, 2 Enrico Ceccato, 1 Matteo Muccignat.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Fabio Semenzato, 22 Kristopher Burton, 23 Brendan Williams.
Venue: Stade Ernest Wallon
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Comments
carpelone says...
pierredelot
Your comment is a bit annoying. Toulose were well matched by a spirited Treviso side, and I am not sure how it could have gone without the incompetent Barnes officiating scrums.
Toulouse's prop opposite to Barnes systematically bored in to destabilise Treviso's scrum.
Albacete's try was a ghost try.
Give credit when it is due and Treviso gave a run for their money to les rouge et noir.
Posted 21:02 14th January 2013
pierredelot1 says...
Th problem as usual is that when Toulouse are up against significantly weaker teams, they don't really click into gear and need a shake up before they get going. Treviso certainly gave them a kick up the backside but the second half was all one way. At Leicester next week Toulouse had better improve on this performance or they willl find themselves on the wrong end of a beating. leicester will be confident as Toulouse this season have gone from good to bad right through and have had no level of consistency. The players are there but the form isn't. Just hope they dig deep and turn the Tigers over at Welford Road. .
Posted 17:43 13th January 2013
giomamo says...
Good first half by Treviso but Toulouse's pack superiority was by far evident along the match. Why continuning to go for Botes as kicker is something beyond me.
Posted 17:21 13th January 2013
melkdave says...
Toulouse really had to work for this 5 point victory,Treviso played very well,and held and matched the french champions for alot of the match.Treviso have really shown this season they arnt pushovers,now they need to show it in the PRO12.Where i think they will upset a few teams
Posted 16:59 13th January 2013