What is it with Toulouse? In their eighth Champions Cup final they went to extra time for the third time. They have won all three. Their quest for the perfect performance was obliterated by a Leinster side with a history of beating them. In the 2022 and 2023 semi-finals, the French club were comprehensively beaten. For large portions of this final, Leinster were in charge. But Toulouse know how to win, as their 6-2 record in finals shows.
Toulouse trooped off at half-time, 40 minutes from a likely defeat. They were ahead on the scoreboard, 9-6, but in every other facet of play Leinster were the better team. Metres made, defenders beaten, offloads, passes — the Irish giants dominated.
• Toulouse taste European glory yet again after gripping extra time
One had to scroll down to tackles made to find any hint of numerical supremacy for Toulouse. There were heroic and technically tremendous turnovers from the half backs, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, when Leinster looked to be one more phase from the tryline. It was the most upside-down of first halves. The Kings of Attack were hanging in there against the defensive-minded Leinster. The world’s most renowned ball players were wrapping themselves around Leinster players in desperation.
Dupont had the ball ripped from his grasp by Dan Sheehan. The hooker tore 60-plus metres upfield, only for the scrum half to win an undoubted try-saving turnover. This 28th-minute incident was the moment that most defined a fiercely physical 40 minutes, where the precision of attack could not shade the savagery of defence.
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Toulouse forgot about beautiful tries and took every point on offer from the boot of Blair Kinghorn. They had selected the Scot at full back over the metronomic Thomas Ramos as a show of intent. He kicked four penalties and was probably the best of the French team.
That Dupont was nothing more than an occasional threat was testimony to the control of Leo Cullen’s men. It was intent, it was tense, it wasn’t the game Toulouse has envisioned. When Ross Byrne kicked a simple 46th-minute penalty it was 9-9.
The statistics were screaming a Leinster victory. Possession, territory, you name it, the Irish side were in complete control — it was just that cussed scoreboard which refused to reflect their supremacy. A 48th-minute scrum penalty emphasised it further. But it was still 9-9. And so it would continue in normal time. Toulouse didn’t think about kicking to the corner when the referee Matthew Carley blew in their favour. Leinster, the more aggressive of the two sides, went three times for the corner instead of the posts. Twice the pressure resulted in penalties in front of the posts.
In the 80th minute, having flirted with the madness of a counterattack with half their team out of position, Ntamack booted the ball behind him. Toulouse were happy to hang on and go to extra time. They, of all European sides, understand the history of these lung-sapping extra 20 minutes.
No tries in normal time for either side but a plethora of possession and half chances for Leinster. Toulouse came closest with a dive for the corner from an Ntamack kick by the predatory left wing, Matthis Lebel. There were milliseconds between his foot touching the touchline and the ball going down.
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The wing made no mistake when he sprinted clear after some slick passing from Les Rouge et Noir. Having found their second wind they proceeded to kick another penalty after a second, sublime 50-22 from the boot of Dupont. A red card and a first try for the men in blue after 93 minutes wasn’t enough to stop the Extra Time Experts from rebuilding their lead, as Ramos delivered a fresh boot with devastating accuracy. We were 95 minutes into the match before the Toulouse fans started to celebrate, ahead by nine points.
They had defended their way into extra time, a period where they finally established some degree of control. Leinster had talked about their defence all season. There was nothing wrong with that but the inability to turn those half-chances into points killed their hopes.
It was an anti-climatic ending: Ciaran Frawley attempted a drop-goal to give his team one final chance of a converted score for the unlikeliest of late comebacks. It was a second missed drop-goal, after the one that narrowly missed with 79 minutes on the clock. Oh how they missed Johnny Sexton’s wonder boot.
One day they will reveal the real Toulouse but for the rest of this weekend they can take a deep sigh of relief. They were not at their wonderful best but they worked their way to this one. Europe’s greatest club are head and shoulders above the rest of the continent.
