The Blues gained little consolation from gaining a bonus point for scoring four tries as the big spending French outfit crossed for seven to cemented their place at the top of Pool 6 and guarantee one of the best runners-up spots and with it a place in the last eight of the competition.
The Blues surged into an 8-0 lead thanks to Leigh Halfpenny’s early try. But Toulon fought back and ran riot with seven tries through Rudi Wulf, Xavier Chiocci, Jean-Charles Orioli, Maxi Mermoz, Alexis Palisson, Mathieu Bastareaud and Florian Fresia.
The bonus-point victory sees Toulon restore their five-point lead at the top of Pool Six and while they are already through, they can secure a home quarter-final in next week’s trip to Montpellier. The Blues fought back with tries from Alex Cuthbert, Dafydd Hewitt and Halfpenny but it was a mere consolation.
A disappointed Blues Director of Rugby, Phil Davies, said: “We coped well at times but, on other occasions, it was just too much pressure for us and that’s when Toulon scored. But you have to give some credit to our players for getting four tries. That bonus point out here, and from such a young team, was very satisfying.
“The average age of our squad is 23. We have a lot of young players, but also strong characters. We want to finish the competition on a high note at home in round 6 and that will be our only focus over the next week.”
Toulon star playmaker Jonny Wilkinson added: “We’ve got to congratulate ourselves for winning against a good team and getting to this stage.
“But there’s work to do – this tournament is only going to get harder. I’ve seen this game for 16 years and I know the guys here are as good as any team I have played with.
“The end of the game was disappointing. It doesn’t matter if you’re a little bit ahead or in a tight game.
“We let a few tackles go, we let them come through the line and, ultimately, they scored a few good tries. It’s not the way we want to finish any game.
“Cardiff started very well and we got caught a little bit cold with the try at the start. We picked up the pace, stuck together as a team and we built momentum and got a bit of a grip on it.”
