Wasps' late show stung Toulouse
It looked as if Toulouse would snatch control of the Pool 2 quarter-final race when their powerful pack earned a penalty try in the final 10 minutes. But Robson had the speed of thought to take a quick tap penalty and burrow over the line to snatch a crucial victory at the death.
Toulouse struck first in the second half after only three points separated the sides at the break. Yoann Huget wrestled the ball down over the line after a Thierry Dusautoir break, but they were soon behind again after Elliot Daly's breakaway try before the late drama.
Connacht top the standings after five rounds, but face a trip to a hurting Toulouse side next week. Wasps only have to beat winless Zebre in Italy to advance.
Wasps had a golden chance to score in the opening exchanges after Jimmy Gopperth's perfectly weighted kick sent Christian Wade flying down his right wing. Wade passed inside to Kurtley Beale, who was caught as he tried to cut inside to the posts. The ball was worked to Josh Bassett, but somehow Wasps failed to get over the line.
Jean Marc Doussain wasted two penalty opportunities that would have given Toulouse a 6-0 lead. But Gopperth showed him how it is done after half-an-hour when he split the uprights with his first kick of the game. And it remained 3-0 until half-time - the lowest total Wasps have scored in a Champions Cup match at the Ricoh Arena.
Toulouse are no strangers to tight European contests, and wrestled the lead back from Wasps after 52 minutes. Dusautoir made the initial break in centre-field before the ball was worked to Huget, who barged over the line and got the ball down over the line for his sixth try in as many matches.
But the Ricoh Arena was sent into raptures when Wasps finally unlocked the uncompromising Toulouse defence. Daly received the ball, jinked past Dusautoir in midfield and sprinted 40 metres to score at the posts. Gopperth added the extras to give the hosts a 10-7 advantage with 17 minutes to play.
Toulouse looked to have snatched it in the final 10 minutes. The Wasps scrum disintegrated under some heavy pressure to allow the visitors to rumble towards the line. Danny Cipriani came in at the side to steal the ball illegally and referee John Lacey awarded a penalty try and sent Cipriani to the sin-bin. Doussain landed the conversion to give Toulouse a 14-10 lead.
The scorers:
For Wasps:
Tries: Daly, Robson
Cons: Gopperth 2
Pen: Gopperth
For Toulouse:
Tries: Huget, Penalty Try
Cons: Doussain 2
Yellow Cards: Wade (Wasps), Cipriani (Wasps)
Wasps: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Thomas Young, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Matt Symons, 20 James Gaskell, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Kyle Eastmond, 23 Frank Halai
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Kunatani Kunabuli, 13 Yann David, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Francois Cros, 7 Talalelei Gray, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Piula Faasalele, 21 Gillian Galan, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Arthur Bonneval
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Barrie O’Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
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