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Racing 92 reach the Champions Cup last four after edging past Toulon 19-16
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They will now face Leicester Tigers in the semi-final
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The French sides were drawing 10-10 at the break after tries from Juan Imhoff and Charles Ollivlon
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Maxime Machenaud kicked three second half penalties to secure the win for Racing
A late penalty from Maxime Machenaud guided Racing 92 to a 19-16 win over three-times champions Toulon in the Champions Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Machenaud took over the goal-kicking duties when Dan Carter picked up an injury after missing with three earlier kicks.
But the scrum-half kept his nerve when it mattered most and it means Carter and co will have to head to the City Ground, Nottingham to meet Leicester Tigers in the semi-final.The result means Toulon’s three-season reign as the champions of Europe is over.
Reigning champions Toulon were on the back foot from the word go after a rapid start from the home side saw Juan Imhoff dabbing down the game’s opening try while Carter added another five points from the tee to give their side a 10-0 lead after an amazing first two minutes.
However, the star-studded visitors hit back with a score of their own from back-rower Charles Ollivon with the boot of Pelisse leaving things all square at the break, 10-10.
Pelisse made no mistake with a simple penalty after the restart to nudge Toulon into the lead for the first time in the match, however, Machenaud slotted a kick to level the score for the hosts just three minutes later.
The scrum-half then edged Racing in front with another kick from the tee but Toulon themselves responded withPelisse kicking his third three-pointer of the game, 16-16.
Machenaud then missed a chance to put the hosts back in front but was able to dissect the posts with his effort with two minutes to go to secure the historical victory.
Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Johan Goosen, 12 Alexandre Dumoulin, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Khatchik Vartanov, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Manuel Carizza, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Marc Andreu
Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 James O’Connor, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Jonathan Pélissié, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Charles Ollivlon, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Mamuka Gorgodze, 3 Manasa Paulo, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Florian Fresia
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Steffon Armitage, 20 Mathieu Bastareaud, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Éric Escande, 23 Thibault Lassale
Date: Sunday, April 10
Venue: Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: JP Doyle (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)