Sunday 19 October 2014 23:49, UK
Wales international Leigh Halfpenny was pleased to put a frustrating period behind him by kicking 13 points on his home debut for Toulon.
Halfpenny missed the start of the season due to a groin problem, with Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal being quoted as saying he might cancel the full-back’s contract as he may have joined the club while injured.
That threat eventually came to nothing and Halfpenny is now settling into his new side well, starring with the boot in Sunday’s 28-18 European Rugby Champions Cup win over the Scarlets as well as making a fine try-saving tackle.
"It's been a frustrating time for me with my injury but I was just very happy to be out there playing again,” Halfpenny said.
"Pulling on the jersey of Toulon is something I have wanted to do, I have had to wait for it but now I am very excited to get my season going.
"This was a tough game, the Scarlets were excellent and gave 100 per cent to everything but I am glad to be able to play a part in our first win in Europe."
Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac was happy with his side’s performance as they stayed in contention for more than an hour against last season's French double winners.
Pivac said: "We asked the boys not to leave anything out on the field, to stick it out for 80 minutes, you can't ask for more than that and I thought they did that.
"It was a pretty frenetic match, the game had plenty of pace to it despite the heat.
"It was a pretty good effort from us, particularly in defence, against one of the best attacking sides you will come across at this level of the game.
"We turned our defence into attack on a number of occasions, which was a big improvement. The charged down kick really hurt us because we could have been going in at half-time in the lead.
"We also had a couple of guys in the sin-bin and we had to soak up too much pressure. A losing bonus point would have been easier to take, but to come back at the end when they were throwing the kitchen sink at us and score a try was pleasing.
"We will take a lot from that performance and head home for the fixture against Leicester with a lot of confidence."
Toulon coach Bernard Laporte added: "You have to give a lot of credit to the Scarlets because I thought they played very well.
"We wanted to make sure we got the win first but of course we would have liked the fourth try and a bonus point. We have some things to work on for next week but I am pleased."
