New Zealanders Jordan Taufua and Charles Ngatai were at the heart of a tough-as-teak Lyon defense that helped the Top 14 team to their first European title with a comprehensive 30-12 victory over Toulon in the Challenge Cup final on Friday.
Lyon led 10-7 at halftime thanks to Baptiste Couilloud’s try converted by Leo Berdeu, who also bagged a penalty. Baptiste Serin crossed for Toulon’s try, Louis Carbonel hitting the extras.
Lyon turned the screw in the second half with a penalty try followed by a try for Pierre-Louis Barassi with Toulon’s Aymeric Luc in the sinbin.
Photo: AFP
Cheslin Kolbe crossed for a late consolation try, but by then Berdeu and Ngatai had each hit a penalty to condemn Toulon to a fourth Challenge Cup final defeat.
“It’s a bit of history for the club and I want to thank all the fans who came down from Lyon — you can see how much it means to them and the city,” Taufua said after the game.
“We wanted to come out and play good rugby, and I think we did that tonight and then showed the heart to defend like crazy in that last 20 minutes,” the captain said.
Photo: AFP
“It’s pretty awesome,” Ngatai said. “It’s our first final, so to be champions is a bit surreal really. We’ve grown a lot, the team has been together a while and we’ve had some ups and downs that we learned from.”
The Stade Velodrome crowd of 51,431 was a record for the competition.
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