article_snippet.sent: Bernard Laporte’s stellar side didn’t come to life until this dismal encounter went into extra-time and Bernard Laporte’s stellar side were only galvanised once Bernard Laporte’s stellar side had been reduced to 14 men, when Ali Williams was sin-binned for taking out Devin Toner in the air.
article_snippet.sent: But there was no swagger about Toulon vs Clermont on Sunday, or any sustained power surges for that matter.
article_snippet.sent: It was unusually wet by the Mediterranean and the conditions made handling difficult, but that didn’t account for the sheer deluge of fumbles made by both sides.
article_snippet.sent: As a showcase of Europe’s elite event, this stop-start contest left much to be desired.
article_snippet.sent: For all the effort and commitment, there was no fluency or cohesion, no rhythm or flow.
article_snippet.sent: The teams simply took it in turns to launch a raid and either spill the ball or concede a turnover.
article_snippet.sent: As an occasion, this was several notches below the blood-and-thunder epic between Clermont and Saracens in St Etienne 24 hours earlier.
article_snippet.sent: Yellow Army’ – or ‘Jaunards’ – created a raucous, partisan atmosphere which wasn’t matched here by the Toulon hordes.
article_snippet.sent: There was a healthy crowd in excess of 35,000, but that was a long way short of capacity and the noise was often restricted to boos for the officials.
article_snippet.sent: Even the Mexican Waves late on were half-hearted.
article_snippet.sent: It meant that their shortcomings were not critically exposed and their will surely rouse their to far greater heights for the final.
highlights_snippet.sent: Ali Williams was yellow carded during extra-time .
  