It would be cruel on Bath to say that Toulouse arrived with a toothpick in their hand, rather than a heavy manual of set-plays, but there was definitely a feeling about the most successful club in the history of European competition that they knew exactly what they needed to do to win and could afford to be a little distracted. When they absolutely had to, they put the toothpick down and gave the game their full attention.
Whenever they conceded a penalty, or a beautifully struck drop goal by George Ford, they hit back immediately with a try – three of them as it turned out, enough to leave them unbeaten in Pool 4. Perhaps it was just an impression; perhaps Toulouse are simply very good at looking unflustered.
That could well be the case. They have had plenty of practice this season at disguising concern. They spent the first two months of the Top 14 season dropping towards 14th position, but have turned themselves around, inspired by a victory over Toulon before going into the cross-border Champions Cup. Here, at times, they looked back to their very best: imperious and disdainful; kings of Europe with a little bit of meat stuck in their teeth.
Bath, braced for a heavyweight assault up front – Yoann Maestri and Patricio Albacete in the second row are not exactly butterflies – threw everything into a scrummaging counterpunch, and were remarkably clear winners at the set-piece. Having gone backwards against Wasps not so long ago, Paul James, Rob Webber and David Wilson were now marching forwards This advance allowed them to stay in the game, gain some territory and put points on the board.
As long as they enjoyed such an unlikely stream of ball on the front foot, the home team could launch their immensely talented backs. Ford, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Semesa Rokoduguni all had individual moments to shine, although it was telling that none of their shimmies and half-breaks led to anything approaching a try.
Toulouse, on the other hand, carved openings whenever they went into full attacking mode. Apart from one run in the second half by lock-turned-blind-side Dominic Day, Louis Picamoles looked the most effective forward on the charge – until the wonderfully percussive Joe Tekori came on – and once the outside backs felt themselves being hauled in the right direction by their No8s, they purred into motion.
Toby Flood looked positively at home in this very French environment, not so much as a place-kicker, but as a mover and passer. Being in the company of – and quite possibly being in competition for a place with – Luke McAlister, Flood seemed armed with a larger repertoire than in his Leicester days. With a switch of play, he opened up acres of space for Maxime Médard to release Vincent Clerc, the all-time top try scorer in Europe.
Imanol Harinordoquy, at the heart of Toulouse’s recovery in the past few weeks, scored the second after a surge by Tekori. Médard scored the third, the full-back one of several players with an open run to the line once sustained pressure had emptied Bath’s .
By the turn of the hour, Bath’s scrum had ceased to be dominant, Ford’s kicks from hand were being read by little Sébastien Bézy, and the gifted home runners were being stopped in their tracks. All credit to them that, nine points adrift, they mounted a comeback. Dave Attwood, tireless and productive in every area, led the charge and Olly Woodburn nearly scored in the corner. Ross Batty did score from a driving maul shortly afterwards.
Toulouse, with a sigh, had to remove the toothpick and defend their two-point lead. They did so powerfully and now face Glasgow in the back-to-back rounds of December. They will be keen to give an altogether different impression, but Toulouse may have to give the unbeaten Scots their undivided attention.
Bath Watson; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Devoto (Henson, 66), Agulla (Woodburn, 71); Ford, Cook (Stringer, 46); James (Auterac, 70), Webber (Batty, 55), Wilson (Thomas, 59), Hooper (capt), Attwood, Day, Sisi (Mercer, 52), Ewels.
Try Batty. Con Ford. Pens Ford 3. Drop goal Ford.
Toulouse Médard; Clerc, Fritz, McAlister, Huget (Matanavou, 45); Flood (Vermaak, 66), Bézy; Steenkamp (Baille, 45), Flynn (Marchand, 77), Johnston (Pulu, 60), Maestri, Albacete (Tekori, 43), Dusautoir (capt; Nyanga, 71), Harinordoquy, Picamoles (Maka, 45).
Tries Clerc, Harinordoquy, Médard. Cons Flood 2, McAlister. Referee Nigel Owens (Wal). Attendance 13,360.
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