Cheslin Kolbe schools 105kg forward at the breakdown
Normally wingers the size of Cheslin Kolbe venture into a ruck about three times a season in fear of getting crushed. But the South Africa winger showed against Toulouse of Saturday that he is capable of going toe to toe with members of the pack.
That basically means the Toulouse pack suffered the indignity of seeing a 75kg winger win a penalty at the breakdown, and a large portion of the blame goes to No8 Alexandre Roumat. The loose forward was the first Toulouse player to the breakdown, but faced an uphill task as Kolbe had already locked onto the ball. The Springbok benefitted from a monstrous tackle by his centres Duncan Paia’aua and Waisea Nayacalevu Vuidravuwalu on Melvyn Jaminet.
That tackle from the centres perfectly sums up the benefit of dominant tackles, as it forces the attacking team to go backwards to join the ruck, and allows the defending team to arrive just a split second earlier. Consequently, Roumat was not able to shift Kolbe off the ball.
This was on the way to Toulon securing a 17-6 win at Marseille, which leaves them in eighth place in the Top 14 while Toulouse remain at the top.
Take a look at the penalty won by Kolbe:
🔥 @CheslinKolbe rightfully gets a ton of praise for his attacking ability. #SaffasAbroad
But the man is just as brilliant on defence. Three examples from his game v Toulouse 💪
Quick to win a penalty after a massive hit from Duncan Paia’aua. pic.twitter.com/ZCjZZsirh1
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) February 22, 2023
Toulon XV
1 D. PRISO
2 T. BAUBIGNY
3 E. SETIANO
4 S. REBBADJ
5 B. ALAINU’UESE
6 C. DU PREEZ
7 F. ISA
8 S. PARISSE
9 B. SERIN
10 I. WEST
11 J. WAINIQOLO
12 D. PAIA’AUA
13 W. NAYACALEVU VUIDRAVUWALU
14 C. KOLBE
15 A. LUC
Replacements
16 A. ÉTRILLARD
17 B. DEVAUX
18 A. WARION
19 M. HALAGAHU
20 M. LE CORVEC
21 J. DANGLOT
22 J. SINZELLE
23 K. BROOKES
Toulouse XV
1 D. AINUU
2 G. CRAMONT
3 D. ALDEGHERI
4 R. ARNOLD
5 E. MEAFOU
6 A. PLACINES
7 F. CROS
8 A. ROUMAT
9 P. GRAOU
10 J. MALLIA
11 M. LEBEL
12 S. CHOCOBARES
13 P. BARASSI
14 A. RETIÈRE
15 M. JAMINET
Replacements
16 I. BOUBILA
17 H. REILHES
18 Y. YOUYOUTTE
19 R. ELSTADT
20 T. NTAMACK
21 M. PAGE-RELO
22 S. GUITOUNE
23 J. MERKLER
