As the English clubs, by and large, took a step forward, and the South African sides had a weekend to forget, Toulouse motored on with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of class.
Having scored 61 points and nine tries in beating Ulster last weekend, they improved on that in an emphatic 64-21 victory at Exeter, crossing the line 10 times.
The European champions had the bonus point – and realistically, the victory – secured before half-time in Devon, but did not ease up after the interval. Having scored five tries in the first half, they scored five in the second too.
Antoine Dupont, who started it all off with a try in the eighth minute, produced a passing masterclass, finding space where none seemed to exist, and opening doors that appeared locked. As he worked his magic, the Sandy Park crowd watched on with a mixture of despair and hushed awe.
Ugo Mola, the Toulouse head coach, had a look of satisfaction as he addressed his players on the pitch shortly after the match. The message – don’t let up, even when the match is won – was heeded.
And in the post-match television interviews, the players said all the right things. Centre Pierre-Louis Barassi was named man of the match, scoring two tries and producing an outstanding run of around half the length of the pitch to set up a score for Matthis Lebel – but spoke only of being pleased for the team.
Blair Kinghorn, brought on as a replacement to score one and create another, talked of how the strength of the squad meant there was no room to slack off in training if you wanted to play.
But it was flanker Jack Willis who perhaps summed up best the thinking inside the Toulouse camp.
“We made some incredible memories last year,” he told Premier Sports. “But we know the target’s on our back and we know we have to be better than last year.”
No team ever won a trophy with emphatic victories in the pool stage. But Willis knows that. And so do his team-mates. And that’s why European rugby’s other big names should worry.
