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Two-time winners Munster have failed to reach the Heineken Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 13 years after Sunday’s heavy loss away to Toulon.

Jonny Wilkinson kicked 22 of the points for Toulon who are guaranteed to finish top of a hotly contested Pool Three.

Tongan-born Japanese international Christian Loamanu and England’s Paul Sackey scored the home side’s tries.

David Wallace scored the only try for Munster who had Donncha O’Callaghan and Ronan O’Gara sin-binned.

Munster had gone into the game lying two points behind Toulon and knowing a win was necessary.

They got off to a good start when veteran Irish fly-half O’Gara sent over a penalty but Wilkinson replied with three successful kicks for Toulon.

The French side had Munster penned back and scored the opening try on 24 minutes as Pierre Mignoni chipped over the top and winger Loamanu jumped to gather the ball and score in the left corner.

Wilkinson’s conversion left Munster trailing 16-3.

O’Gara soon cut the deficit with a penalty but then came O’Callaghan’s yellow card for needlessly pulling back a Toulon player as he chased a kick through.

Toulon made the advantage count with Mignoni getting into the 22 before play was swept out to the right where Sackey touched down after some poor tackling from Keith Earls and Johne Murphy.

O’Gara replied with a penalty but Munster were still 17 points behind at half-time.

Wilkinson put Toulon 29-9 ahead with a penalty shortly after the restart.

Tony McGahan’s men suffered a further setback when O’Gara was sin-binned after tangling off the ball with Mignoni.

Wilkinson then extended Toulon’s lead before home prop Davit Kubriashvili was yellow-carded in the final quarter.

Flanker Wallace scored a consolation try with three minutes remaining, but Munster’s proud record of making the knock-out stages in every season since 1998/99 was over.

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James Simpson-Daniel has no choice but to take a break due to his ankle injury. The 26 year old will have to go in for surgery after sustaining damage to his ankle ligaments. This also means that he is out of England’s Autumn tests, as the whole process will take about three months. Even his team mate Luke Narraway will probably be sidelined for England’s first game against the Pacific Islands due to a hamstring injury. Both the players were injured playing with Gloucester during the match against Cardiff in the Heineken Cup.

Simpson-Daniel is quite a talented player and even won the Guinness Premiership player of the season last year, so this is quite a setback for him, especially since he was in great form this season. His numerous injuries and illnesses have also restricted him in the past, as he has been restricted to just 10 England caps. Simpson-Daniel’s replacement for further rugby tours will be announced by team manager Martin Johnson by Friday.

Gloucester has had it quite rough recently. Not only did they lose out on a chance to win the Heineken cup, but also suffered losses to their backline, again, due to various injuries. Simpson Daniel’s injury could not have happened at a worse time for them.

In a nail biting match, the Cardiff blues completely destroyed any hopes that Gloucester had of getting ahead in the Heineken Cup. In a dramatic and exciting game, they won 37-24, and Gloucester left the field with absolutely nothing.

The crowd came in pretty good numbers to witness Sunday’s spectacle, and all those supporting Cardiff did not leave disappointed, although Gloucester’s supporters surely left with a tear in their eyes. The home side put on an excellent show for all to see while they clobbered the living daylights out of the opposition.

Critics state that Gloucester were not able to reach the level they had been able to attain during last season. The crowd saw them running after shadows during the first ten minutes. Their first points were scored only when the match drew close to the first quarter.

Although they started off at a quite pace, Cardiff had quite a great start. They shifted their point of attack without much effort and scored with ease. All in all it was a big day for the Welsh boys, and if they continue to win their games in sort of style it could be a big season for the Blues.

Mike Tindall and the rest of his boys at Gloucester are well aware of the importance of this Saturday’s match against Cardiff. It is crucial for both Cardiff and Gloucester to win this if they want to continue making their way to the Heineken cup finals this season.

Both teams have done quite well this season and kicked off with wins. Cardiff mercilessly beat Calvisano 56-20 and Gloucester thrashed Biarritz 22-10. But who will win when they face each other? For this, both the anxious teams as well as spectators will have to wait and see this Saturday.

Although the Cardiff Blues have not been seen much this year, the Gloucester captain, Mike Tindall knows that it will not be as easy as it looks. What he does believe, though, is that if the entire team focuses on giving their best shot, winning the match should not be a problem at all. He also acknowledges that this is probably going to be one of the most important games in the pool stages of the Heineken cup.

It is these kind of rugby tours, the games get everyone excited, everyone will have to wait till this Saturday to see what lies in store in terms of the fate of both of these great teams.