Saturday 17 January 2015 20:35, UK
Despite a 60-22 hammering of Ulster, Toulon coach Bernard Laporte was "not impressed" by his team's performance in their European Champions Cup encounter.
Toulon became the first side to qualify for the quarter-final with their bouns-point win in the south of France on Saturday.
The final score should be enough to sound a warning to any clubs facing Toulon in the knock-out stages of the competition but even more worrying is that Laporte is seeking an improved performance from his players as the tournament progresses.
"Our mission was to secure the qualification and get a bonus point. We can now celebrate and prepare for our next game,” Laporte said.
"There was some good defensive aggressiveness in our last couple of games, but I did not see it today, especially from the 15th to the 35th minute.
"We did not play well during those 20 minutes. This is not good enough and we need to do more.”
Rhythm
Laporte felt that a virus that went around the Toulon camp leading up to the game was to blame for what he perceived was an off-key performance.
"Ulster gave us more space later in the game and we were able to score tries," he added.
"Our backline players got sick with the flu on Thursday and I'm wondering if our lack in rhythm comes from this.
"I am not impressed by those 60 points, although we are happy because we feel like the crowd enjoyed the game."
Meanwhile, Ulster No 8 Roger Wilson was proud of the effort that was made by his team-mates.
"When you look at the scoreboard, it's very disappointing but I don't think that reflects the effort we put in for 80 minutes,” said Wilson.
"Not many teams will go to Toulon and score four tries but the big negative for us was the defence.
"We tried to get in their faces as much as possible and it worked for a while, but when they get up some momentum and get their off-load game working they are very difficult to stop.”
