Toulon’s Juan Smith, Mathieu Bastareaud and Matt Stevens observe a minute’s silence in honour of the victims of the Paris attacks before their European Rugby Champions Cup match against Wasps on Sunday. (Reuters)

AFP/Toulon


Defending European champions Toulon and their international brigade of superstars slumped to a shock 32-6 defeat to Wasps on Sunday while last season’s runners-up Clermont edged Ospreys 34-29.
Toulon, bidding for a fourth successive European Cup, also saw Wasps claim a crucial bonus point which put them in charge of a tough Pool 5 having defeated Leinster 33-6 in last week’s opening game.
Wasps ran in four tries against a Toulon side whose own scheduled opener against Bath was postponed in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks.
Every English side in the European Champions Cup claimed victory in the tournament’s second round, leaving Wasps boss Dai Young to sing the praises of the domestic Premiership.
“I just think the English teams are pretty good sides. The Premiership is a very good competition,” said Young.
“It’s very tight week in week out, I believe there’s good teams right throughout the Premiership.”
Wasps, the 2004 and 2007 champions, seized control of the match at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena with two tries in two minutes to leave the champions shell-shocked.
No 8 Nathan Hughes powered over in the left corner with Ruaridh Jackson adding the conversion.
Jackson then initiated and finished the second try with a smart kick ahead. The ball was collected by scrum-half Joe Simpson who released Joe Launchbury.  
Simpson was back in support to find Jackson, who raced the length of the 22 for a try which the Scottish fly-half converted himself.
A Jonathan Pelissie penalty gave Toulon their first points but Wasps quickly restored their 14-point advantage thanks to a monster Elliot Daly kick from the half-way line.
Jackson and Pelisse exchanged penalties as Wasps took a 20-6 lead into the interval.
There was no letting up after the break as Wasps grabbed a third try after 50 minutes when winger Frank Halai slipped through a gaping hole in the Toulon defence and sprinted to the line despite the close attentions of the pursuing Delon Armitage. Wasps added a fourth score when Hughes powered over from a maul for his second try of the game.
The English side played the last seven minutes with 14 men after clearing their bench but Toulon, with Australian fly-half Quade Cooper enduring a frustrating tournament debut, could still not register a point in the second half.

Dazzling
Clermont belatedly opened their campaign with a thrilling 34-29 win over Welsh side Ospreys.
Two dazzling tries from man-of-the match England winger David Strettle inspired last year’s beaten finalists.
Aurelien Rougerie and Wesley Fofana joined Strettle on the scoresheet for Clermont while the Ospreys also ran in four tries—all in the second half—through Justin Tipuric, Eli Walker, Sam Parry and Tom Habberfield.
The last-gasp tries from Parry and Habberfield, whose score was a length-of-the-field burst, ensured two bonus points for the Welshmen who were 20-3 down at the interval.
On Saturday, three-time champions Leinster were left battling for survival when they slumped to a 19-16 defeat at Bath, their second successive loss.
The defeat left the Irishmen facing back-to-back games with Toulon to keep their hopes alive.
Fly-half star George Ford kicked the match-winning penalty for Bath from 40 metres with three minutes left at the Recreation Ground.
Four-time champions Toulouse lost their opener 32-7 at Saracens last weekend but hit back on Saturday with a 24-18 win over fellow French side Oyonnax in Pool 1.
Two-time champions Leicester defeated Stade Francais 33-20 last week and followed it up with a 36-3 win at Pool 4 whipping boys Treviso.
Racing 92, who will welcome World Cup winner Dan Carter into their ranks next month, started their Pool 3 campaign with a 29-12 win at the Scarlets in Wales.
Northampton, the 2000 champions, lead the way in the group after a 26-15 win in Glasgow followed on from their 15-11 victory against Scarlets in their first game.
Saracens fought back from 9-0 down to defeat Ulster 27-9 at a rainswept Belfast to make it two wins from two in Pool 1.