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.
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
RSS