Cardiff no match for Toulouse

Heineken Cup Review: Saracens produced a terrific all-round performance to overwhelm the Ospreys 19-10 while Toulouse thrashed…

Heineken Cup Review:Saracens produced a terrific all-round performance to overwhelm the Ospreys 19-10 while Toulouse thrashed Cardiff Blues 41-17 on a bad day for Wales in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Saracens, into the semis for the first time, will now face  Munster at Coventry's Ricoh Arena after the Irish province clinically defeated Gloucester 16-3 away on Saturday.
   
Three-times champions Toulouse will travel to Twickenham to face London Irish, also in the last four for the first time after Saturday's 20-9 victory over Perpignan.
   
Saracens were in control for most of their game against an Ospreys side who embarrassed them 30-3 in the EDF Energy Cup semi-finals two weeks ago and contained the bulk of the Wales team who won the Six Nations grand slam last month.
   
Saracens led 6-3 at halftime after two Glen Jackson penalties, though they should have been further ahead as the Ospreys failed to spark.
   
The game turned decisively in Saracens' direction two minutes after the restart when Argentine replacement Francisco Leonelli ran 60 metres to score the opening try.
   
The Ospreys finally got going in the last quarter and replacement Paul James ended several minutes of forward pressure to score a converted try to cut the lead to six with six minutes remaining.
   
Saracens, though, kept their heads and set up Jackson for a sharply-taken drop goal to take it to 19-10 which proved enough.
 
Jean-Baptiste Elissalde had been identified as a potential weak link for Toulouse after the scrumhalf was pressed into action at number 10 but instead he produced a match-winning performance as the French favourites proved too strong.
   
Toulouse hit the ground running with a first-minute try by Maxime Medard which Elissalde converted before adding a penalty to make it 10-0 after five minutes.
   
Cardiff hit back as a Jason Spice try took them within three but Toulouse always looked to have more in the tank and they drew clear with a Maleli Kunavore try after 63 minutes.
   
Ben Blair crossed again for the Welshmen but Toulouse were never threatened and hammered the scoreboard in the closing stages with tries from Vincent Clerc and Jean Bouilhou and a 50-metre last-minute drop goal by Cedric Heymans.