Cheslin Kolbe lands killer blow for Toulouse against Ulster

ULSTER'S hopes of Champions Cup success took a blow at the first attempt as Cheslin Kolbe's brace of tries helped Toulouse to victory at Ravenhill – just as he did in September's quarterfinal meeting.

Rob Herring's two tries and Ian Madigan's excellent first-half effort had Ulster in good shape to upset the four-time champions, but Kolbe's brilliant scores, and one each from Antoine Dupont and Rory Arnold got Toulouse's campaign off to the perfect start in Belfast.

“We've lost at home and that's not something we're used to doing and I'm really frustrated,” said Ulster coach Dan McFarland.

“At least we had weapons tonight – we didn't have those weapons in the quarter-final. But we weren't as good as we can be, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.”

After a competitive opening 15 minutes, Ulster took the lead when Herring dived over after a well structured driving lineout, while Cooney added the extras.

Toulouse's restart went straight into touch, which gave Ulster a scrum on halfway, and Dan McFarland's side struck again straight away with a breathtaking first-phase try finished by Madigan after he and John Cooney had launched the move.

It was a great start for 1998 champions Ulster, who lost 36-8 in September against Toulouse in the Champions Cup quarterfinal.

That day Kolbe was unstoppable for the French side, and 20 minutes in he produced another staggering piece of skill to haul his side back into the game when he chipped through, gathered and slid over the try-line despite the best efforts of Madigan. Ramos' conversion made it 12-7.

While some of Toulouse's play was incredible at times – Dupont was very lively at scrum-half – they also left some chances behind them.

But a minute from the break the French side took a scarcely deserved lead.

A scrum near halfway was a brilliant platform for Toulouse to attack from, and after Cooney missed a chance at an interception, Dupont regathered and raced clear of the cover at the edge of the scrum, and he ran in the converted try for a 14-12 half-time lead.

Slow-rolling Toulouse flanker Rynhard Elstadt allowed Cooney to reclaim the lead three minutes after the break with a penalty, but seconds later the loss of Marcell Coetzee for a head injury assessment was a huge setback for Ulster.

Cooney was off target with a kickable penalty after 46 minutes and six minutes later Toulouse punished that miss when Rory Arnold wriggled over from half a yard following a huge Joe Tekori carry.

Ulster turned down a penalty from under the posts and went to the corner approaching the hour mark.

Herring's second mauled try of the night soon followed, with Cooney's conversion edging them ahead 22-21.

The lead lasted seven minutes before Kolbe stepped aggressively and scored his second try which wrapped up the bonus point.

A late Stockdale breakaway resulted in a yellow card for Maxime Medard when he killed the ball.

“There aren't a lot of teams who come here and win, so I think we can take a lot of confidence from this,” said star man Kolbe.