It’s getting to the pointy end of this year’s Champions Cup and Toulon are the team in form coming into this weekend’s quarter-finals.
The glamour French club sent a statement to Limerick, where they face Munster this Saturday, as they outplayed a poor Clermont side, winning 49-0 and running in seven tries.
That total included one for Chris Ashton, taking the former England speedster’s tally for the season to 21, equaling the record set by Napolioni Nalaga in 2008/09.
Ashton is no doubt benefitting from playing outside recently arrived former All Blacks star, Malakai Fekitoa, who crossed for two tries himself in a man of the match performance.
The former Highlanders midfielder was partnered in the centre by re-born France international Mathieu Bastareaud in a devastating combination that tore Clermont apart.
Underlining the array of talent available to Toulon coach Fabien Galthie was the fact he opted to rest another All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu.
It will be a tough job for Galthie to pick two starters from that trio against Munster.
Great night at the office with the boys #RCT 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/uVvarP1hDB
— Malakai Fekitoa (@MalakaiFekitoa) March 25, 2018
As for the men from Limerick they will have a tough job knocking Toulon out in this kind of form as the French giants ran rampant at the Stade Felix Mayol on Sunday.
Clermont, the reigning Top 14 champions, themselves have a quarter-final this weekend at home to Donnacha Ryan’s Racing 92.
The Parisian side currently sit second in the Top 14 table behind Montpellier and with Maxime Macheanud and Pat Lambie forming a superb half combination they will be confident of reaching the final four at the expense of last year’s Champions Cup runners-up.
In the other quarters Saracens travel to Dublin to take on Leinster, who currently top Conference B in the PRO14 but were well beaten by the improving Ospreys on Saturday.
Sarries were comfortable winners over Harlequins in front of 55,329 fans at London Stadium and, with all of their England stars back, will be confident of an upset at Ballsbridge.
On Friday night the PRO14 champs Scarlets will look to end the fledging European dreams of France upstarts La Rochelle. The Llanelli-based side though will need to bounce back from a shock loss to Munster over the weekend.
Watch the highlights from Saracens Premiership win against Harlequins on Saturday afternoon - Including two great tries from Liam Williams and Maro Itoje! pic.twitter.com/OW7jpCnOh0
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) March 26, 2018
CHAMPIONS CUP
Quarter-Finals
Friday, March 30
20:30 Scarlets v La Rochelle
Saturday, March 31
18:15 Munster v Toulon
Sunday, April 1
16:00 Clermont v Racing 92
18:30 Leinster v Saracens
