Kolbe stars as Toulouse march on

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Toulouse booked their place in the French Top 14 final with a 20-6 victory over La Rochelle in the first semi-final on Saturday.

Toulouse, featuring fullback Cheslin Kolbe, flank Rynhardt Elstadt and prop Maks van Dyk, didn’t have it all their own way in the first half; but as they’ve done so often this season, the hosts pulled away in the second half to complete a one-sided victory.

Toulouse held a slim 7-6 advantage at the break after scoring a converted try but Ihaia West kept La Rochelle in touching distance with two penalties.

But the hosts’ backline, and more specifically Kolbe, stamped their authority on the game in the second half to shred La Rochelle’s defence to pieces. The Springbok fullback caused all sorts of problems to Rochelle’s defensive line with several dazzling runs from the back to create scoring opportunities.

La Rochelle’s hopes of a comeback were dashed when Sebastien Bezy found his way over for an unconverted score, and that was followed five minutes later by Kolbe finishing off a scintillating move wide on the right that saw him engage four defenders and still prevail to dot down.

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SA Rugby magazine