With the start of the French Top 14 this weekend, Toulon will be looking to continue their dominance from the previous season; a season which produced a French and European cup double.
This was the first time a French team has achieved this feat and confirmed their status as the most dominant force in European club rugby.
Ever since millionaire owner Mourad Boudjellal took over the club, a relatively unknown team in the south of France plying their trade in France’s second tier, he vowed to take them to the top of the French and European club rugby landscape.
Major investment followed with international superstars arriving on large salaries, including Victor Matfield, Tana Umaga, Anton Oliver and Sonny Bill Williams. RC Toulonnais quickly established themselves as a force in the Top 14, rivaling regular super powers Clermont Auvergne, Toulouse, Perpignan and Stade Francais.
This progress culminated in a first European final, the 2010 Amlin Challenge cup final against the Cardiff Blues of Wales. In a thrilling encounter at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, Toulon went down 28-21, but the potential was there to see and their assault on the main European Cup competition was taking shape.
Defeats in the 2012 Challenge cup and Top 14 finals to Biarritz and Toulouse respectively confirmed their pedigree in competing for honours, but a first trophy still eluded the men form the Provence.
Going into the 2012/13 season, Toulon had truly established themselves as a superpower in European, as well as French, club rugby, with a ruthless recruiting policy, signing a plethora of global stars complementing the class of Jonny Wilkinson. Their name had now been included amongst European powers Leinster, Munster, Toulouse and Clermont as favourites for the trophy.
Powering their way to their first Heineken Cup final in 2013 against French rivals Clermont, who themselves looked equally impressive throughout the tournament, many commentators had the contest split down the middle, with the bookmakers slightly favouring the men from the Massif Central.
During an incredibly tense and physical encounter, the composure and accuracy of Jonny Wilkinson’s boot was the ultimate difference between the two teams, as Toulon ran out 16-15 winners, securing their first European triumph.
The delight of Coach Bernard Laporte and owner Mourad Boudjellal was plain to see at the final whistle as tears ran down their faces.
A shock Top 14 final defeat to Castres the following week couldn’t dampen the achievement; RC Toulonnais had reached the summit of European club rugby.
Going into the 2013/14 season it was business as usual as more superstars signed, including Bryan Habana and Drew Mitchell, along with the huge boost from Jonny Wilkinson signing on for another year.
With a seasoned squad which resembled an experienced international side, Toulon made the finals of both the European cup and French Top 14 for the second successive season. The Heineken Cup final against Saracens, who destroyed Clermont 46-6 in the semi-final, was a perfect setting for the reigning champions to show their quality.
A match day squad containing an abundance of international caps, with no fewer than 225 on the bench alone, was always going to be a monumental task to compete against. It proved to be just that; despite a competitive and spirited first half display, Saracens fell away in the second half.
The vast experience, power and quality showed in the second period as Toulon ran out comfortable 23-6 winners, securing back-to-back European triumphs. An 18-10 win then followed in the Top 14 final over reigning champions Castres, avenging the previous year’s defeat to the same opponents, and by doing so, achieving the historic double.
2014 was a milestone year for Toulon, emerging as the unanswered number one force in European club rugby. Their quarter-final demolition of 3-time winners Leinster and the capitulation of long-time rivals Clermont Auvergne meant they finished the season as the outright number one club.
The retirement of the great Jonny Wilkinson is a blow to the team but the signing of Leigh Halfpenny, who is equally as metronomic with the boot, and the likely move of Giteau to fly-half, will negate this problem somewhat. The additional signing of 44-capped Wallaby James O’Connor adds depth to these positions.
A marauding pack including World Cup winners Bakkies Botha and Juan Smith, ERC European Player of the Year Steffon Armitage, added to with the signing of Mamuka ‘Godzilla’ Gorgodze and led by All Blacks legend Carl Hayman looks as formidable as it gets.
Going into the 2014/15 season Toulon look as strong as ever and appear a level above their closest rivals. Unless the likes of Leinster, Munster, Toulouse, Clermont, Saracens etc. can find that extra level it is hard to look beyond the reigning French and European Champions.
With the owner’s constant pursuit of the world’s top players showing no signs of abating, the dominance of RC Toulonnais looks set to continue well into the decade
Pilou! Pilou!
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