Toulon winger Marc Andreu hailed the team spirit that propelled the big-spending promoted club to a superb 22-16 win over Clermont-Auvergne in the opening round of the new Top 14 campaign. Down 13-0 at the interval, the southerners launched a tremendous comeback in the second half and scored three tries to sink Clermont, who are considered one of the contenders for the title this season.
Toulon have a hotch-potch team of southern-hemisphere stars, such as summer signings Jerry Collins and Sonny Bill Williams, and home-grown stalwarts, but they already seem to have gelled under Kiwi coach Tana Umaga. Andreu, 22, said: "We are not just a group of players but a group of friends. "We have only been together for a month but we are getting along very well, whether they are Australians or New Zealanders.
"In the second half, it really came together and it paid off. "But we mustn't get too excited. We must keep our feet on the ground, stick to our game plan, continue doing what Tana is teaching us and it will all go okay." Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal, who has ploughed so much of his personal fortune into the club over the past few years, added: "I am really proud of my players. "We showed our place in the Top 14 is justified.
"We are going to try to keep the same desire we had during that second half." Clermont collapsed after a bright opening 40 minutes, which saw them take a healthy lead thanks to Aurelien Rougerie's try and eight points from the boot of Brock James. Rougerie, the France winger and Clermont captain, said: "We only played for one half, that's all I can say. Things will have to be said. "We had to deal with a revitalised Toulon, who put together some counter-attacking moves and made the most of our errors to score their points. The squad is in good condition, we had a good preparation period but we were still on holiday in that second half."
Meanwhile, Australia have appealed against flanker Rocky Elsom's one-match ban, which was handed down by a SANZAR judicial committee on Tuesday. Elsom was found guilty of tackling Victor Matfield in the air during a line-out in Saturday's Tri-Nations Test between Australia and South Africa in Durban. Elsom had entered a not guilty plea but was overruled by Nick Davidson QC, who headed the judicial committee, after viewing evidence of the incident.
A statement following the verdict read: "Elsom has been suspended from all rugby until Monday, September 1. "Matfield gave telephonic evidence that he suffered an injury in the incident but completed the game without impediment. "Any injury appeared minor and did not influence the decision." The appeal will be heard by a telephone conference today with the Wallabies due to play South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday.
