14-man Toulouse edge Exeter 43-40 in thriller
Toulouse beat Exeter Chiefs 43-40 in an Investec Champions Cup pool match at the Stadium de Toulouse on Sunday, 18 October. The French side played almost the entire game with 14 men and survived a last-kick penalty that would have snatched a draw BBC Sport.
The drama started early. Prop Rodrigue Neti was sent off in the 16th minute for shoulder-to-head contact on Exeter back-rower Ross Vintcent. A red card in union means no replacement, so Toulouse had to reorganise with one forward down for more than an hour.
Exeter led 26-24 at half-time. Toulouse had gone 12-7 up before the sending-off, but the Chiefs took advantage of the extra space and kept the scoreboard moving.
Winger Zack Wimbush scored three tries for Exeter. His hat-trick — three scores by one player in a match — kept the visitors in front and then kept them in touch as Toulouse hit back.
Toulouse still found a way to score. Ange Capuozzo, Joshua Brennan, Teddy Thomas, Matias Remue twice and Romain Ntamack all crossed, alongside a penalty try. That is a seven-pointer awarded by the referee when illegal play stops a certain score, with no kick needed.
Exeter's other tries came from Jack Yeandle, Stephen Varney and Will Butt. Ntamack kicked three conversions for Toulouse, the extra two-point kicks taken after a try. Henry Slade kicked five conversions for Exeter.
Referee Hollie Davidson of Scotland had a busy afternoon. The match swung again and again, with neither side able to pull clear for long.
Then came the finish. With the clock in the red — meaning time was up and this was the final play — Slade lined up a penalty from about 40 metres to level the scores. It missed. Toulouse held on.
Exeter did not leave empty-handed. The three-point margin earned them a losing bonus point, an extra table point given for a narrow defeat in this competition.
For fans, this means Pool 2 is already tight. Stade Rochelais lead the group with five points from one match, with Toulouse third on four points and Exeter fourth on one point EPCR.
What makes this stand out is the arithmetic. Toulouse, the reigning French Top 14 champions, defended and attacked a man light for most of the match and still scored seven tries. Exeter, who travelled for a Sunday afternoon kick-off shown live on Premier Sports, turned pressure into points but fell just short at the death.
