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Toulon’s English duo Kyle Sinckler and Lewis Ludlam started their Top 14 careers with a 15-19 defeat to La Rochelle on Sunday at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
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The pair moved to the three-time European champions over the summer, putting their England careers on hold for the time being.
The round one meeting was a repeat of last year’s Top 14 semi-final qualifier, which La Rochelle won at the Stade Mayol.
The visitors went in at the break behind following a half where both halfbacks spent a stint in the sin bin. Dan Biggar was the first to see the yellow card brandished for a cynical dive over a ruck when La Rochelle were camped on their line. The hosts scored their opening try of the match moments after through Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
No sooner had the Welshman returned than his partner Baptiste Serin was departing.
Serin redeemed himself shortly after the break with a perfectly weighted grubber kick for his wing Gael Drean to run onto and give Toulon the lead.
Toulon’s advantage only lasted a matter of minutes though, with Ronan O’Gara’s side regaining the lead through former South Africa wing Dillyn Leyds, courtesy of a perfectly weighted pass from Sinckler’s and Ludlam’s former England teammate Jack Nowell.
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A third try of the match for La Rochelle through replacement prop Georges-Henri Colombe looked to have put the game out of reach, but a second try of the contest for Drean gave Pierre Mignoni’s side a chance of victory. La Rochelle were, however, able to cling on to a 19-15 win, meaning Toulon will return to the Cote d’Azur with a losing bonus point.
Ludlam played the entirety of the match on debut, while Sinckler managed 48 minutes before the entire Toulon front-row unit was replaced. The visitors were still in the lead when the tighthead left the field of play.
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