Tops / Flops Toulouse-Ulster: Baloucoune sees triple, Mallia sees red

TOPS

Baloucoune turns Toulouse heads

Who else but him to be voted man of the match?

Author of a capital hat-trick, Robert Baloucoune dazzled with all his class the first act of this Champions Cup round of 16.

At the conclusion of a surplus off (12th), he woke up his people after 10 minutes of domination by Toulouse.

With Ulster enjoying the power play for 70 minutes (see below), the winger wasted no time in rushing into space and scoring two more tries.

The first after a big job of fixing his center Stuart McCloskey (44th) before crucifying the Toulousains on a run of 80 meters after having intercepted an ill-adjusted pass from Antoine Dupont (65th).

A decisive X factor.

Ulster takes an option on the quarter-finals

Undefeated on the European scene since the start of this 2021-2022 edition, the Irish of Ulster have ideally started their double confrontation against the champions of France and Europe by imposing at the Stadium.

If their throws into touch were disrupted throughout the meeting, the Ulstermen were able to count on a solid conquest, as evidenced by the third try in force of the pillar replacing Andrew Warwick (58th) and an iron defense to counter the Toulouse attacks in the last 20 minutes, despite the late try of Romain Ntamack (79th).

With a six-point lead in the second leg, which they will play at home at their home ground at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast next weekend, all lights are on for the

Thomas Ramos, indefatigable raiser

He was one of the Toulouse players who stood out the most during this first leg.

Impeccable in his role as scorer (4/5) and author of 10 points, Thomas Ramos was also valuable and applied to recovery and coverage.

The rear of the Rouge et Noir notably stood out with a 60-meter boost after the siren, which allowed his partners to believe in the sweet dream of victory.

A strike from Martin Page-Relo finally put an end to the hopes of Ugo Mola's men.

FLOPS

Juan Cruz Mallia, a disastrous turning point in the match

This is inevitably the main fact of the match in this Champions Cup Round of 16 first leg.

While Stade Toulousain got off to an ideal start with a strong try from Emmanuel Meafou (5th), the Rouge et Noir suddenly found themselves outnumbered after the red card Juan Cruz Mallía.

Guilty of an illicit charge on his vis-à-vis Ben Moxham, who landed on his head following a candle, the Argentine winger left his partners at 14 against 15 for 70 minutes.

If his partners manage, to a lesser extent, to limit the damage, they cash a 26 to 13 in his absence.

Out of breath, the champion corrected in the second half

After joining the locker room with a six-point advantage (13-7), Stade Toulousain suffered their numerical inferiority during almost the entire second act.

Without balls, the Reds and Blacks saw the Irish waves surge in their 22 meters, before conceding three tries.

Despite a burst of pride at the end of the match, with in particular the test of Romain Ntamack, Stade Toulousain fell at home in the final phase of the European Cup.

A first since the 2005-2006 season.

The reigning European champions now have a week to prepare for the return match and achieve an authentic feat in Belfast.