They were beaten by Cardiff Blues in their Galactico era in the 2011 final, suffered another agonising defeat in 2012 and lost to a rampant Bristol side in 2020. Only two players who started against Saracens were named for their encounter with Section Paloise last weekend, but they ran out comfortable 37-20 winners nonetheless, their seventh consecutive win before the final.
However, there is enough glitter among the grunt to make it worth keeping both eyes on this hors d’oeuvres to the main course of Leinster against La Rochelle in the Champions Cup final at the same Stade Velodrome venue the following day. Toulon and Lyon finished eighth and ninth in the French league respectively last season, and they are still mid-table now, although the gap from both clubs to Montpellier at the top is tight. And Toulon are fielding two of the sport’s most entertaining little big men on the wings in Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa and France’s Gabin Villiere – each has a voracious appetite for getting stuck into breakdowns grafted on to a wondrous facility for wriggling their bodies free in the tightest of corners.
In a notable subplot, Lyon head coach Pierre Mignoni will return to Toulon at the end of the season after seven years at the club. “We only remember the winner”- Outgoing Lyon coach Mignoni The former France scrum-half worked as Toulon’s backs coach between 2013 and 2015 during the most successful period in the club’s history. “In the situation in which the world is, especially in Ukraine, to live moments like these is a privilege, ” he said. “But it will be historic only if we win.
BT Sport Monthly PassJoin the home of live sport for just £25 per month. Get instant access to the BT Sport app, with no contract and no BT broadband required. Both European Challenge Cup semi-finals were gripping, wonderful spectacles and the perfect embodiment of French club rugby’s European supremacy. Of the eight semi-finalists across this season’s Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, five were French, with three making the respective finals.
Individual genius will decide Toulon vs Lyon, from Kolbe and
France wing Gabin Villiere’s blockbuster performance helped them book their final spot – and a chance to become just the fifth side to win both the Champions Cup and Challenge cup – in front of a baying crowd at a vociferous Stade Felix Mayol. Saracens kept in touch in the first-half, but the hosts produced the knockout blow when Fijian winger Jiuta Wainiqolo scored brilliantly under the posts. Springbok superstar Eben Etzebeth, who will be released early from his contract to return to South Africa at the end of the season, was exceptional in the first meeting of the heavyweights since 2016-17. Toulon are regulars in the upper echelons of European club rugby, but Friday’s final is their fourth shot at Challenge Cup glory after three near misses.
Why individual genius will decide the Challenge Cup final, from Gabin Villiere to Eben EtzebethThe forward crunch is bound to be mighty when Lyon face Toulon in the Challenge Cup final in Marseille on Friday evening, and these all-French clashes in Europe have a reputation of a sporting version of cancel culture, with familiarity breeding containment. However, there is enough glitter among the grunt to make it worth keeping both eyes on this hors d’oeuvres to the main course of Leinster against La Rochelle in the Champions Cup final at the same Stade Velodrome venue the following day. Toulon and Lyon finished eighth and ninth in the French league respectively last season, and they are still mid-table now, although the gap from both clubs to Montpellier at the top is tight.
Lyon II - Sporting Club Toulon live score and H2H - Scorebar
Leinster were the only club to break the Top 14 stranglehold. Two of those, Toulon and Lyon, meet in Friday’s Challenge Cup final – and all the action from Marseille is exclusively live on BT Sport 1 from 7. 15pm, with kick-off at 8pm. The all-French affair pits three-time Champions Cup winners and undisputed European royalty in Toulon against Lyon who are competing in their first major final since 1933. There has been little to separate the sides in the Top 14 this season, with Toulon one position and one point ahead of Lyon heading into the final weekend, but the gulf in pedigree is vast. Lyon were appearing in their first semi-final against 2003 winners Wasps and recovered admirably from a five-point half-time deficit to earn a seventh straight win in an unbeaten European campaign. Fly-half Leo Berdeu, the top scorer in this season’s Top 14, contributed 15 points and finished off a fine flowing move – one of the best in this year’s competition – to swing the match in their favour and sink the spirited visitors who made most of the early running.
Lyon vs Toulon Rugby 28.05.2022 Full Match Replay
With the exception of Luke Pearce and Wayne Barnes, who are the referees of this weekend’s finals, the only English representation on the pitch in either match is Joel Kpoku, the 22-year-old second-row who joined Lyon from Saracens last November. This is Kpoku’s eight appearance for Lyon, and fourth start. “We’re not focusing on the history, ” said Kpoku, perhaps understandably, as his club – full name, Lyon Olympique Universitaire, or LOU for short – has won only the French second division as a post-war major trophy, whereas Toulon carried off the European Champions Cup in 2013, 2014 and 2015, in between losing finals in the Challenge Cup to Cardiff Blues in 2010, Biarritz in 2012 and Bristol Bears in 2020.
Toulon’s flanker and former France captain Charles Ollivon can use this stage to remind the world of his skills, after a nine-month knee injury robbed him of participating in his country’s Six Nations Grand Slam earlier this year. Ollivon tops the dominant-tackle count in this season’s Challenge Cup.
Toulon on TV - Rugby Fixtures, TV Schedules & Live Streams
Why individual genius will decide the Challenge Cup final, from Gabin Villiere to Eben EtzebethThe forward crunch is bound to be mighty when Lyon face Toulon in the Challenge Cup final in Marseille on Friday evening, and these all-French clashes in Europe have a reputation of a sporting version of cancel culture, with familiarity breeding containment.
Challenge Cup: Lyon meet resurgent Toulon in all-French finalFirst-time finalists Lyon take on domestic rivals Toulon in the Challenge Cup final, with all the action from Marseille exclusively live on BT Sport. Published: 25 May 2022 - 4. 52pm By Press Association Saturday 14 May. The day French club rugby reminded us of its greatness. Hours after Lyon overpowered Wasps at Stade de Gerland, Toulon mercilessly bulldozed favourites Saracens at a colourful, hostile and brilliant Stade Felix Mayol.
Berdeu’s stunning try was a magical moment in a memorable game, but it shouldn’t detract from Lyon’s greatest asset: their pack. Sébastien Taofifénua and London-born Joel Kpoku were inspired, and the former Saracens lock is aware of the threat posed by Toulon. “They’re on a bit of a good run, ” he said. “We know it’s going to be tough, especially in the forwards. They’ve got some electric backs too, so we’ve got to stop them getting into the game.
Lyon and Toulon will contest the Challenge Cup final in Marseille after thrilling semi-final wins “The set-piece is going to be the big one – that will set the tone for who comes out on top and where the game is going to be won. ” They suffered a heavy defeat to Bordeaux-Begles in their last match before one of the biggest moments in their history but made wholesale changes with Toulon in mind. Hours after Lyon edged past Wasps, Toulon turned back the clock to set up the all-French final with a sensational win over much-fancied Saracens.
More from Rugby UnionKolbe and Villiere are directly opposed by Lyon’s Fijian-Georgian combo of Josua Tuisova and Davit Niniashvili, in a mini-battle typical of the French league as a whole, as cosmopolitan signings top out home-grown talent like white horses on a Cote d’Azur wave. Toulon’s flanker and former France captain Charles Ollivon can use this stage to remind the world of his skills, after a nine-month knee injury robbed him of participating in his country’s Six Nations Grand Slam earlier this year. Ollivon tops the dominant-tackle count in this season’s Challenge Cup. Alongside him, Sergio Parisse is the 38-year-old doyen of No 8 play, now on his last lap of rugby before retirement, and with 142 Italy caps behind him.
Alongside him, Sergio Parisse is the 38-year-old doyen of No 8 play, now on his last lap of rugby before retirement, and with 142 Italy caps behind him. With the exception of Luke Pearce and Wayne Barnes, who are the referees of this weekend’s finals, the only English representation on the pitch in either match is Joel Kpoku, the 22-year-old second-row who joined Lyon from Saracens last November. This is Kpoku’s eight appearance for Lyon, and fourth start. “We’re not focusing on the history, ” said Kpoku, perhaps understandably, as his club – full name, Lyon Olympique Universitaire, or LOU for short – has won only the French second division as a post-war major trophy, whereas Toulon carried off the European Champions Cup in 2013, 2014 and 2015, in between losing finals in the Challenge Cup to Cardiff Blues in 2010, Biarritz in 2012 and Bristol Bears in 2020.
And Toulon are fielding two of the sport’s most entertaining little big men on the wings in Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa and France’s Gabin Villiere – each has a voracious appetite for getting stuck into breakdowns grafted on to a wondrous facility for wriggling their bodies free in the tightest of corners. More from Rugby UnionKolbe and Villiere are directly opposed by Lyon’s Fijian-Georgian combo of Josua Tuisova and Davit Niniashvili, in a mini-battle typical of the French league as a whole, as cosmopolitan signings top out home-grown talent like white horses on a Cote d’Azur wave.
Lyon 20-18 Wasps FULLTIME - Coventry Telegraph