Top 14 Orange
Chris Masoe comes back to haunt Toulon in Top 14 opener
ESPN Staff
August 21, 2015
Jonathan Pelissie makes a break during Toulon's Top 14 opener against Racing Metro
Jonathan Pelissie makes a break during Toulon's Top 14 opener against Racing Metro© BERTRAND LANGLOIS/AFP/Getty Images

European champions Toulon suffered a losing start to the new Top 14 campaign as Chris Masoe returned to haunt his old side at the Stade Felix Mayol.

With 19 players away on international duty ahead of the World Cup, a heavily depleted Toulon side succumbed to a 27-22 defeat at home to Racing Metro on Friday night.

New signing Jonathan Pelissie enjoyed a fruitful debut for the hosts, scoring all of their points on a night which ultimately belonged to a familiar face in Masoe.

Pelissie and opposite scrum-half Maxime Machenaud traded penalties in the opening stages as Toulon opened up a 6-3 lead, before Antoine Claasen was shown the yellow card for the visitors after 26 minutes. Toulon took full advantage as Pelissie ran over for the game's first try, before adding a further five points from the boot either side of another Machenaud penalty.

However, good work from Casey Laulala and Henry Chavancy saw the latter cross the whitewash and ensure Racing clawed back the deficit to 16-11 at the break.

Two more Machenaud penalties moved the away side into the lead for the first time shortly after half-time, but Pelissie restored Toulon's lead with one of his own shortly after Racing's Francois van der Merwe was shown a yellow card for a loose elbow.

Toulon's Mitch Inman was then given a yellow and Racing made the advantage pay; Masoe crashed over on 66 minutes before Machenaud converted to move the visitors 24-19 ahead.

Machenaud rubbed salt into the wounds with another three points on 73 minutes, before a late Pelissie penalty provided little consolation for Toulon.

© ESPN Staff

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