Tip-top Toulouse go clear

Toulouse moved seven points clear at the top of Pool Five after subduing a spirited Dragons effort at Rodney Parade.

The French side's win piles the pressure on Bath ahead of the Premiership club's trip to Glasgow on Sunday.

Tries during the opening flurries of each half by wings Maxime Medard and Cedric Heymans set up the win for the three-time champions, although Toulouse still had to work hard for their four points.

Frederic Michalak kicked a drop-goal and two penalties that underlined early Toulouse dominance, while David Skrela converted Medard's fourth-minute touchdown, yet the Dragons gave it their best shot.

Prop Rhys Thomas scored a try six minutes before the break, with fly-half James Arlidge booting eight points, but Toulouse were always capable of moving up a gear when it mattered.

Medard finished off the Welsh side by claiming his second try after 54 minutes, and then it was merely a question of whether or not Toulouse would claim a potentially-priceless bonus point.

The fact they failed owed everything to a Dragons pack that worked itself to a standstill, denying Toulouse one final opportunity.

Stars

Toulouse paraded their traditional galaxy of international stars as they targeted a fourth successive group victory.

And the visitors took less than four minutes to cut the Dragons' defence open as Skrela's floated pass found Medard, who nonchalently kicked ahead and gathered a kind bounce.

Skrela converted in his final act before going off injured after being on the receiving end of Dragons number eight Joe Bearman's crunching tackle.

Michalak merely took up the baton from Skrela though, booting two penalties and a drop-goal during a 15-minute spell that saw Toulouse effortlessly move 16-0 ahead.

The Dragons were in danger of suffering a thumping defeat, yet their response stirred the Rodney Parade faithful.

Bearman's lineout catch and pass created sufficient space for Thomas to crash over, before the Wales prop came agonisingly close to claiming another try, but he knocked on while crossing Toulouse's line.

Expectations

An Arlidge conversion and penalty cut the interval deficit to just six points, raising expectations the Dragons could claim a shock win.

But Heymans and Medard - two of the European game's deadliest finishers - struck during a third quarter when Toulouse seemed capable of just flicking a switch when they needed to.

At 26-13 adrift, the Dragons found themselves facing a damage-limitation exercise, yet they could not escape from suffocating Toulouse pressure, and Medard's pace continued to cause them major problems.

The hosts did manage to avoid conceding a bonus point but this result means their European campaign is over after just four rounds.

Assuming Bath triumph at Firhill, Toulouse's trip to Bath next month will decide the group.