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Italian legend Sergio Parisse targetting one last title in his final run with Toulon

By PA

26 Sep 2020

Sergio Parisse (Photo by REMY GABALDA/AFP via Getty Images)

Bristol Bears will have to travel to Aix-en-Provence to meet Toulon in the final of the European Challenge Cup after the French side beat Leicester 34-19 in the second semi-final.

Toulon earned home nation advantage for the final as the highest ranked team left in the tournament and will now only have to travel 57 miles for the final on Friday, October 16.

They scored two tries in each half to heap further misery on new Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick, who saw his side’s last faint hopes of gaining a place in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup by winning the Challenge Cup go up in smoke.

Jerome Kaino on the future of the All Blacks

The victory means there will be a fourth final outing in the tournament for the great Italian number eight, Sergio Parisse, who turned 37 earlier this month.

He captained Stade Francais Paris in the 2011, 2013 and 2017 finals, winning the man-of-the-match award in his side’s victory over La Rochelle in Edinburgh three years ago.

“It feels good to have beaten Leicester, but we want to go on and win the title. We deserve our place in the final,” said Parisse.

Toulon, who won the Heineken Champions Cup in 2013, 2014 and 2015, have fallen at the final hurdle twice before in the Challenge Cup. They were beaten in Marseille by Cardiff Blues in 2010 and then fell to Biarritz Olympique at the Twickenham Stoop in 2012.

“This is a young team and I am really happy to be a part of it. I really hope we can go on and win the title,” he added.

“We were very clinical in our turnovers and got two tries from them in the first half. We played some good rugby.

“Our set-piece was also very good against a Leicester side that is well known for being good in that area. Now we are looking forward to facing Bristol, who played an amazing game against Bordeaux-Begles.”

While Parisse is currently the elder statesman in the Toulon squad, he will soon be the second oldest when former All Black great Ma’a Nonu rejoins the French club to help alleviate their backline injury woes.

“In order to compensate for the injuries of Anthony Belleau and Julien Heriteau, the sports staff and President Bernard Lemaitre contacted the New Zealand centre,” a Toulon club statement read.

“After three seasons spent in Toulon between 2015 and 2018, the All Black with 104 selections has signed up as an additional player, to bring all his experience to the Red and Black three-quarter line.

“Ma’a Nonu will arrive in Toulon in the coming days and the club is delighted with his return and hopes to share with him a very good 2020-2021 season.”

Now 38, Nonu spent three seasons at Stade Felix Mayol and played in two Top 14 finals. He scored 14 tries in 77 games for the club.

“It will nice not to be the oldest guy in the squad and it is going to be good for the team to have Ma’a Nonu back. All the Toulon fans will be happy,” Parisse added.

One of Nonu’s first acts will be to try to formulate a plan to stop Bristol star centre Semi Radradra causing more mayhem in the final against a team he played for in the 2017-18 season.

He scored twice for Bristol in their quarter-final win over the Dragons and then provided the final pass for two more in Friday night’s semi-final win over Bordeaux-Begles.

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Comments on RugbyPass

GrahamVF 6 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

There is a continued murmur in local circles about reciprocal bi annual tours between SA and Argentine. Whether it's full blooded test tours or development tours or a mixture - ie touring with a "test" 20 and a development 20 the cream of which will be used in tests. We actually really enjoy playing the Argies and I believe they enjoy playing us. It goes back seventy years to the Junior Bok tours to Argentine involving Isaac van Heerden.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 14 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

About 500K of those are schoolboys 90% of which will not go on to play club rugby.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 15 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Exactly. Shoo would that it was so easy to develop competitions.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 19 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

SA wealthy? Compared to which countries. The economy is in tatters unemployment is at record low numbers and you think SA has money to spend on rugby development -0 and remember the SARU was technically bankrupt and was only saved by the COVID tour of the B&I Lions. No Sa doesn't have spare cash lying round for rugby development and given the resources SARU is doing just fine.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 22 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

South African domestic rugby is in great shape. Four top tier franchises fed by a series of competitions ranging from national schools competitions through Varsity Cup to Currie Cup and then to top four franchises is a model Australia would do well to follow. SA should never have more than four top domestic teams.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 27 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

That might be the best spin off from SA's involvement north of the line.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 27 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Of course not Nick 😉

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 31 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

We have our own theories about The Sharks. Plumtree is a good coach but he has not done anywhere near the best he could with the talent and money he has at his disposal and it doesn't help to have a marquee director of rugby who has spent by far the majority of his career playing and coaching sevens.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 36 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Don't worry - you'll win again soon then you'll feel a lot better. Right now get on with your SH comps and we'll get on with being barely the best in the world.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 39 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

JW you really have no idea of how Africa works. It will take generations not decades no matter how much SA puts into it. The poverty in Africa is something that is obviously beyond your understanding. Do you think the governments of impoverished nations are going to watch happily as rugby pours massive investments into infrastructure to promote what is essentially a white western game? And SA was trying hard to develop the game in Africa until the African vote blocked our "23 bid after the independent consultants to the RFU voted unanimously for SA? The Confederation of African Rugby virtually excluded South Africa.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 49 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Nick, our association with Argentina Rugby runs very long and deep. We are exploring reciprocal two/three test tours in the future - and even more games at neutral venues such as in Europe where a lot of both teams have players anyway.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 53 minutes ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.

"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"

After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

Which country do you think was instrumental in developing rugby in Argentina which then spun off into the rest of Latin South America? South Africa was touring Argentine in the 50's with their Junior Bok side on three months development tours. And they didn't do it to cultivare players for the Boks. Regarding Africa you are not taking into account that South Africa itself is an emerging nation. The rugby union has prioritised the development of rugby in South African rural communities with outstanding success.

It has taken 15 years to build the participation of rugby both in playing and watching. For South Africa on its own to build a viable international rugby competition in africa will take generations - not decades. New Zealanders seem to resent the fact that SA has doubled the income of the URC since their inclusion. If New Zealand Rugby hadn't insisted on have a disproportionate slice of the pie in Super Rugby, SA might not have fled the coop.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

I think this debate is avoiding the elephant in the room. Money. According to the URC chief executive Martin Anayi, the inclusion of SA teams has doubled the income of the URC. There is no doubt that the SA teams benefit from the URC but so do the other countries' teams. Perhaps it doesn't affect a club like Leinster but the less well off clubs benefit hugely from South African games' TV income. I don't think SA continued inclusion in the URC is a slam dunk. They don't hold all the cards by a long way - but they do have an ace in the hole. The Ace of Diamonds.

157 Go to comments

GrahamVF 1 hour ago

How Wallace Sititi humbly reacted to All Blacks Player of the Year honour