Benetton Treviso 21-33 Toulouse

Toulouse recovered from a poor first half display to overpower Treviso in the second half and record a vital 33-21 victory.

The Italians responded to the energy of the crowd early on at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo, playing with passion and enthusiasm and even having the edge over Toulouse in the scrum. The Frenchmen were guilty of ill-discipline too, conceding a number of penalties at the breakdown as well as the set-piece, and Treviso fly-half Kristopher Burton was having a particularly successful day with the boot and kicked six from six in the first half. The hosts did have to hold on in defence at times when Toulouse attempted to play a more expansive game but they defended manfully and Luke McAlister could only manage half the number of penalties as his opposite number to leave the score 18-9 at the break. McAlister and Burton exchanged penalties again early in the second half and, when Vincent Clerc was sent to the sin bin shortly afterwards, the visitors would have been fearing the worst. But Robert Barbieri followed him into the sin bin five minutes later and Toulouse took advantage of his absence by scoring a penalty try after their scrum was rumbling inexorably towards the line. The Treviso defence was starting to tire and Louis Picamoles found a gaping hole in it moments later and surged forwards before brushing off several tackles and powering his way over to give his side the lead. The Italians were unable to deal with the strength of their opponents as the game wore on and, after the forwards continued to dominate, Luke McAlister chipped the ball over the top for Clerc to touch down under the posts. Toulouse were unable to get the fourth try and the bonus point in the final quarter of an hour though and there was a slightly sour ending to the match as Christopher Tolofua was sent off after getting his second yellow card of the game for tipping Fabio Semenzato on his head.