\u201cWe can be proud, but we came here to win,\u201d Cobus Reinach said, reflecting on the Stormers\u2019 Investec Champions Cup heartbreak in Toulon.<\/p>\n
The final whistle had sounded barely five minutes earlier when Charles Ollivon had held up the Stormers\u2019 last-gasp try effort on the line with the clock red, Toulon 28, Stormers 27.<\/p>\n
The roar of Stade Mayol was still ringing around the Proven\u00e7al evening, with the Stormers<\/a>\u2019 Champions Cup campaign over by a single, agonising point.<\/p>\n In the mixed zone beneath the stands, Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stood side by side. There was no dejection, but there was hurt, certainly. Still, there was also the unmistakable composure of two players who knew they had given everything and come within a fingertip of pulling off something remarkable on one of European rugby\u2019s most hostile grounds.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2018We came here to do a job\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWe came here to win, came to do a job, and we fell a bit short,\u201d Reinach<\/a> said. \u201cI think when we got together and spoke to the boys afterwards, we said we can be proud of ourselves. We went guns firing. A decision here or there probably didn\u2019t go our way, but that\u2019s rugby,\u201d he assessed, speaking to Planet Rugby exclusively.<\/p>\n Having spent the last two years in France with Montpellier before his move to the Stormers, Reinach understands the rhythms of French rugby as well as any South African in the game. He knew what was coming at Mayol, and he had prepared his team accordingly.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing in France for two years, I kind of expected Toulon to come up guns blazing from the first whistle,\u201d he said. \u201cWe prepped and we said, \u2018listen, we have to stay in the contest\u2019. Playing away from home in France, in the Top 14, the away games are always the tough ones, because the 50\/50 calls don\u2019t go your way. So we tried to put them under pressure at set piece, at their lineouts, and just keep going at them. At the end, we left it to a contest, and the 50\/50 call didn\u2019t go for us.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a telling observation, delivered without bitterness but with the quiet clarity of a man who has played enough rugby in the south of France<\/a> to know how these things can go. The Stormers had legitimate grievances with several decisions across the 80 minutes. Reinach chose his words carefully, but the message was unmistakable.<\/p>\n Glasgow v Bulls: Winners and losers as Huw Jones replacement \u2018justified\u2019 with last South African team \u2018squeezed\u2019 out of Europe<\/a><\/p>\n Feinberg-Mngomezulu: \u2018We handled them really well\u2019<\/p>\n Feinberg-Mngomezulu had started on the bench, watching the first half unfold from the stands. It was his first experience of Stade Mayol, and it clearly left an impression.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone knows Toulon is quite a special place,\u201d he said. \u201cActually starting on the bench and just getting to see the atmosphere feels pretty special. The fans are so committed. French people love their rugby. It\u2019s a privilege to play out here.\u201d<\/p>\n His impact when he arrived on the pitch was immediate and devastating. Within minutes, he produced the chip kick that created the try to put the Stormers<\/a> ahead at 20-14, a moment of such nonchalance and technical precision that it shifted the entire momentum of the game. Asked to explain the technique, he smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a quick drop from the hands to the foot, just a grubber. But it must be done at good speed so there\u2019s no deflections.\u201d<\/p>\n Just a grubber. The best ten in the world makes it sound like a training drill. It was anything but.<\/p>\n On the game itself, Feinberg-Mngomezulu was generous in his assessment of Toulon\u2019s set piece but pointed in his frustration at how the Stormers\u2019 own dominance went unrewarded.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a French side, we expected them to have a strong set piece, and we actually handled them really well,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we were very unlucky at the end. We could have got more reward out of the maul. We did everything we needed to do. I remember seeing JD Schickerling\u2019s feet in the air when he was trying to get the ball back to the back of the maul. I don\u2019t want to make any comments on what I saw, but I think we could have been a lot more fortunate with some of the calls towards the end. Pretty tough.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the brilliant Puma ten, Tomas Albornoz, who had tormented the Stormers all afternoon with his distribution and game management, Feinberg-Mngomezulu was generous. \u201cHe carries the ball with two hands, good acceleration on the park, and he gets into the physical contest. He\u2019s a great player. We respect him. He\u2019s a national team player. We\u2019re supposed to play against each other for years to come and we will enjoy that. I think we have a similar philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut they have some superstars; alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit, Charles Ollivon is the best flank around and he was immense today, and I said to him post-match, I really look forward to seeing him again \u2013 \u00a0in November, I think. Brex too, he was phenomenal in defence in their close out and those two guys were a big part of the RCT win. You want to play against players that test you of that calibre.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked whether he had considered dropping to the pocket for a drop goal in the final play rather than going for the try, the young ten frowned: \u201cI was thinking about that just now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought we had them in the contest. It\u2019s not a game where we\u2019re looking for a bonus point. On reflection, I could have dropped into the pocket. But it\u2019s easy to say that when things don\u2019t go your way. Some people would vote for a try. Some people wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n And the penalty from 60 metres that drifted wide in the second half? Did he have the range?<\/p>\n \u201cSixty metres isn\u2019t a problem for me. I slotted 62 yesterday in the warm-up training. The breeze from the port was quite strong and just into our faces in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou learn a lot from games like this; micro moments- it really was a knife edge match.\u201d<\/p>\n There was no arrogance in the delivery. It was simply a statement of fact from a 23-year-old who possesses a kicking game of extraordinary power and precision. Sixty-two metres in training. The wind got him, maybe next time it won\u2019t.<\/p>\n