The Blues got off to a flying start when in the second minute they managed to score a superb try. The Blues scrum was good, giving a solid platform before they moved the ball wide through Halfpenny who passed on to James. He did well to beat Martin on the outside and then draw Armitage in, before passing inside to Halfpenny who sprinted in after wrong footing Smith.
Wilkinson slotted two straightforward penalties for Toulon to give them the lead. Looking dangerous, their most threatening move saw them gain 20 yards before Steffon Armitage broke off and got within 10 yards of the try-line. Michalak then carried on the move before Lloyd Williams excelled himself, taking Michalak down before the Blues were eventually penalised.
The Blues were dealt a further blow when Gavin Evans was taken off the field by stretcher after a tackle by Delon Armitage. The Arms Park crowd made their feelings known about the incident that George Clancy only awarded a penalty for.
Halfpenny and Wilkinson both missed penalties before halfpenny slotted a 40-metre effort to bring the score on the half to 8-6.
Half time Cardiff Blues 8 RC Toulon 6
The second half started with Wilkinson getting a penalty putting the points on the board for Toulon. Halfpenny, receiving the same opportunity minutes later, slipped with his effort as he aimed to regain the lead.
It was a full-blooded Heineken Cup encounter with the crowd playing their part, getting behind the Blues, creating a great atmosphere at the Arms Park. Much to the discontent of the home crowd, Wilkinson slotted two further penalties for the visiting French side. Soon after, Halfpenny retaliated by adding a further three points for the Blues bringing the score to 11-12 on the hour mark.
Toulon extended their lead with a well-taken effort, which saw Gunther carry the ball through the middle before Giteau carried on the move. Halfpenny put in a solid tackle on the Australian but the ball was recycled for Steffon Armitage to touch down. Wilkinson converted.
The Blues did narrow the lead with a 40 yard effort but Wilkinson was again accurate with his kicking bring the score to 14-22 with less than five minutes left.
Cardiff Blues 15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Gavin Evans (26off) 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Tom James 10 Ceri Sweeney (60on) 9 Lloyd Williams (70off)
8 Andries Pretorius (c) 7 Sam Warburton (67off) 6 Josh Navidi 5 Lou Reed (60off) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Benoit Bourrust (20ff) 2 Marc Breeze 1 Tafa’ao Filise
16 Andi Kyriacou 17 Nathan Trevett 18 Scott Andrews (20on) 19 James Down (60on) 20 Robin Copeland (67on) 21 Lewis Jones (70on) 22 Jason Tovey (60on) 23 Dafydd Hewitt (26on)
Toulon 15 Delon Armitage 14 Vincent Martin 13 Mathieu Bastareaud 12 Matt Giteau 11 David Smith 10 Jonny Wilkinson (c) 9 Frederic Michalak
8 Chris Masoe 7 Steffon Armitage 6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe 5 Jocelino Suta 4 Bakkies Botha 3 Davit Kubriashvili 2 Mickael Ivaldi 1 Gethin Jenkins
16 Jean Charles Orioli 17 Andrew Sheridan 18 Carl Hayman 19 Pierrick Gunther 20 Maxime Mermoz 21 Nick Kennedy 22 Nicolas Durand 23 Simon Shaw
Cardiff Blues
Tries Halfpenny x 1
Con
Pen Halfpenny x 3
D/G
RC Toulon
Tries S Armitage x 1
Con Wilkinson x 1
Pen Wilkinson x 5
D/G
Attendance: 9,624
Yellow Cards: