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Toyota Cheetahs facing a giant, RC Toulon in EPCR Challenge Cup

Posted on Wednesday, 29 Mar 2023

Toyota Cheetahs facing a giant, RC Toulon in EPCR Challenge Cup

PHOTO: MARULA SALA

RC Toulon was founded on 3 June 1908, a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon, France and a current participant in the first-tier Top 14 competition; they have won the national competition on four competitions on four occasions.

Toulon plays their home games at the Stade Felix Mayol, although they have begun to take high-profile matches to the 67,000-seater and two in 2009-10 and 2010-09.

Toulon were Pro D2 champions in 2005, but after finishing 14th in the 2005-06 Top 14 season, they were relegated back down.

After signing several high-profile players like Mourad Boudjellal, Jean-Jacques Crenca, Yann Delaigue, Gonzalo Quesada, Dan Luger, Tana Umaga, George Gregan, and Jonny Wilkinson, the club made a strong run at promotion in the 2006-07 season, and succeeded in their promotion quest in 2007-08, winning that season’s Pro D2 crown with two rounds to spare.

Their 2009-10 Top 14 season was more successful, with a second-place regular-season finish, a semi-final place domestically, and a runner-up finish in the 2009-10 European Challenge Cup. In 2012, they again advanced to the Challenge Cup final, losing to Biarritz, and advanced to the Top 14 final, Heineken Cup Final by 16-15 against ASM Clermont Auvergne, and lost the Top 14 Final against Castres in June.

They retained the Heineken Cup with a 23-6 win over Saracens in May 2014. They added a historic third consecutive win in the 24-18 win over Clermont in the 2015 final.

RC Toulon currently has a Springbok player, Cheslin Kolbe, and the following former South African players; Bakkies Botha, Michael Claassens, and Eben Etzebeth. Bryan Habana, Juandre Kruger, Victor Matfield, JP Pietersen, Andre Pretorius, Daniel Rossouw, Lawrence Sephaka, Juan Smith, Marcel van der Merwe, Joe van Niekerk, Duane Vermeulen and Lorne Ward.

Toulon won Heineken Cup in 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2014-15; they also won the Top 14 in 1930-31, 1986-87,1991-92 and 2013-14. They were the runners-up nine times.

On to European Challenge Cup, they were runners-up in 2009-10, 2011-12, and 2019-20.

RC Toulon has 22 international squad players from 10 countries, with an overall of 628 international caps (before 2023 Six Nations)

  • 5 x props with an overall of 91 caps
  • 3 x hookers with 11 caps
  • 1 x lock with two caps
  • 6 x back row players with 285 caps
  • 1 x scrumhalf with 43 caps
  • 1 x flyhalf with 102 caps
  • 2 x centre with 27 caps
  • 2 x wings with 66 caps
  • 1 x fullback with one cap.
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