Exclusive:When Edinburgh Rugby battled through tear gas to beat Toulon

The sides meet again in the Scottish capital on Sunday afternoon and it is likely to be a more sedate affair, on the leafy avenues around Murrayfield at least.

The previous encounter, in January 2019, took place amid rioting on the French streets. It began with anti-government protests against a fuel tax and escalated as people across France donned high-viz vests, giving them their nickname the ‘gilets jaunes’ (yellow vests), as they went about disrupting traffic.

Paris was the centre of the unrest as demonstrators fought riot police, and cars and motorbikes were set alight. But the disruption spread to other French cities, including Toulon where a video posted on social media of a police commander hitting protestors provoked fury.

The disturbances provided an unlikely backdrop to one of Edinburgh’s greatest days as Richard Cockerill’s side became the first from Scotland to beat Toulon at their famous Stade Mayol. To best the three-time European champions in their own backyard was a magnificent achievement; to do it as noxious gases wafted into the stadium was something else entirely.

“I always remember that game very well because there were riots on the street and tear gas and all that stuff,” says Ben Toolis, the former Edinburgh and Scotland lock forward who played a key role in the victory.

“We were warming up with all this tear gas and I remember Cockers shouting, ‘breathe in, lads!’

“We were like, ‘oh, this isn't good’ and we were all struggling for breath. Thankfully it kind of cleared up before kick-off. But, yeah, that was one way to warm up!”

Bill Mata’s outrageous intervention

There was no discernible effect on the Edinburgh players other than the concession of a couple of early tries. They grew into the game and bossed the second half, eventually winning 28-17. Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn scored the first two of Edinburgh’s three tries but it was the third score which remains indelibly stamped in the memories of the club’s supporters.

James Johnstone finished it but Bill Mata made it with one of the most outrageous offloads seen on a rugby field.

“I always remember the famous Bill Mata offload to Jimmy Johnstone,” smiles Toolis. “He was fantastic, wasn't he? He's a freak but in a good way. Just his athletic ability and just his size and just his ability to offload, and the way he jumped in the lineout. He was fantastic for us and it seems like he's doing really well in Bristol now. They've got a great player there.”

While most observers were surprised by the result in Toulon, Toolis recalls a quiet confidence going into the game

“We knew that we had the team to do it,” he says. “We'd had really good performances and on our day, we could take anyone. The Stade Mayol is one of the ones that everyone wants to play at and to be able to go there and get a decent win was amazing.

“Toulon obviously have a good history in the Champions Cup, winning three in a row. The calibre of player wasn't maybe the same, but they still had a good squad: Bastareaud, Guirado, François Trinh-Duc, a lot of French mainstays and some good international players as well, like Julian Savea.

“So it was a really good team and to go there and get the win was – yeah, it was awesome. I remember the sheds afterwards - a few beers... a really good memory. Sometimes you forget about these things, now you don't play anymore, and then you're – oh, yeah, that's right, that was cool.”

Toolis, 33, is back in town this week and will deliver the match ball ahead of kick-off at Hive Stadium as Edinburgh host Toulon in the opening game of a new Investec Champions Cup campaign. The match marks their return to the top-tier competition for the first time in three years and head coach Sean Everitt revealed this week that the squad had been watching footage of the previous victory or, more correctly, victories because Edinburgh did the double over Toulon in 2018-19.

Edinburgh’s ‘biggest victory’

In the days when sides played each other home and away in the pool stage, Cockerill’s team also overpowered the French heavyweights 40-14 at Murrayfield, with Toolis scoring the opening try. They then beat Newcastle twice and defeated Montpellier in their final group match in Edinburgh to finish top of Pool 6 with five wins from six, their only defeat coming in the opener against Montpellier in France.

Heady days indeed and Everitt would doubtless bite your hand off for similar outcome this season. Cockerill called the win in Toulon “the biggest victory this club has ever had” and their reward was a home quarter-final against Munster. More than 36,000 converged on Murrayfield for the match but the Irish visitors nicked it 17-13 with a late try from Keith Earls after Pierre Schoeman had been penalised.

“I think Schoey still apologises for that penalty!” laughs Toolis.

“I remember there's a picture of me on the floor just completely gone. It was exhaustion and the disappointment of just not getting over the line in the end. But, again, that's all part of the experience and what makes rugby amazing. It was disappointing, but, again, it was a great run for us.”

The crazy game

A fortnight before the quarter-final with Munster, Toolis was part of the Finn Russell-inspired Scotland team which came from 31-0 down to draw 38-38 against England at Twickenham. It was one of 30 caps won by the second-row and surely the most memorable.

“To this day, my wife always claims that's the craziest game she's ever experienced. She was just in awe of the confusion, and the atmosphere. It was just bizarre, but in a fantastic way. It was a Finn masterclass, wasn't it? He kind of just took over and showed he was world-class. That was a great game to be a part of.”

Toolis is now based on the Gold Coast but returns to Edinburgh four times a year for work and to catch up with friends. He retired from rugby last year at the age of 32 after a couple of seasons in Japan with Kintetsu Liners but the bulk of his pro career was spent at Edinburgh where he played for nine years, making 127 appearances.

He arrived from Australia in 2013 with twin brother and fellow lock Alex, the pair signing for Edinburgh from Queensland side GPS Old Boys. The Scottish connection is their mother, Linda, who hails from Carluke and Alex remains in the capital where he helps coach at Boroughmuir.

Ben has also got into coaching, assisting with the Bond University team in Queensland, and also has a new business venture aimed at assisting athletes deal with their short careers by helping them build “sustainable, hands-off income”.

Retiring from top-level sport can be a challenging time and Toolis believes he can help with the process with Fifty Twenty-Two (FTT), a consultancy he has set up with his business partner, Pav Masutes.

“I've had heaps of mates that really struggled with the transition period,” says Toolis. “Even myself, although I was fine financially, you still have that identity crisis where you see yourself as a rugby player and all of a sudden that's gone. You've got to figure out the next stage of your life. It's kind of like you have to start all over again. And I struggled with that.

“So this kind of generated the idea that we want to help athletes build passive income, whilst they're playing, preferably. But it can be done at any time of their life. And then we provide support through the transition period and we can help in any way we can in terms of what that is, identity structure or just helping them out mentally or helping them find a new career.”