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Scare for Springboks as Cheslin Kolbe forced from the field after seven minutes of play against Clermont
By Sam Smith
The Springboks camp were delivered a scare in Toulouse's Top 14 clash against Clermont when star wing Cheslin Kolbe limped from the field after just seven minutes of play.
After becoming entangled in a tackle near the sideline, Kolbe twisted awkwardly under the weight of the tackler. After receiving some medical attention from the team doctor, he was forced from the field.
Springbok fans on Twitter were quick to put two-and-two together, with Kolbe a must-start for the upcoming Lions tour any injury could heavily influence the outcome of the series without his game-changing talents.
The injury to the European champions allowed Clermont to strike immediately through France international Damian Penaud and take a 7-0 lead.
Toulouse were struck with injury again midway through the second half, with flyhalf Romain Ntamack coming from the field in the 61st minute. Surprisingly, that saw Kolbe return to action in Ntamack's place, dispelling fears that he had suffered a major injury.
The Springbok star went on to influence proceedings, making an impressive try-saving tackle after running down Clermont winger Peter Betham after an intercept. Kolbe then got to his feet and snaffled the ball to complete the turnover tackle.
Kolbe had another moment of brilliance, cutting through the Clermont defence with his trademark step before keeping the ball alive with a basketball-pass. With one more offload off the ground, Toulouse scored a stunning try that was unfortunately called back for a forward pass.
A late try to Tim Nanai-Williams gave Clermont a chance at victory but a penalty goal from Thomas Ramos secured a 36-27 win for Toulouse as they chase a double after winning the Champions Cup against La Rochelle two weeks ago.
The league win retained first place on the Top 14 ladder with La Rochelle, with both clubs equal on 77 competition points.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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