Following Toulouse’s 31-22 win over Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup Final, we bring you the highlights from the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
6 Star Rugby
It was a match that will go down in history as the European Cup was once again a match of incredible physicality and passion, with Toulouse down to 14 men beating Leinster in extra time thanks to a try from Matthijs Lebell to win the European Cup for a record sixth time.
The final minutes of the game were reminiscent of a scene from MASH, with eight players leaving the pitch due to injury or illness after a fierce defensive battle. The win was achieved thanks to some superb, suffocating defense from Toulouse, their most aggressive and challenging blitz so far this season, and an astounding 19 turnovers by Antoine Dupont and the Toulouse back row.
Blair Kinghorn and Thomas Ramos converted eight penalties and one conversion, and accuracy from the tee was key to France’s victory. Leinster missed two goal kicks and two drop goals, any of which could have changed the course of the game.
Toulouse’s victory meant Leinster had suffered a third consecutive defeat in a Champions Cup final, an unpleasant record but one that will weigh particularly heavy on their shoulders given the expectations ahead of this match.
Those lucky enough to make the journey to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to witness this Test-standard spectacle will leave with the satisfaction of having witnessed one of Europe’s greatest finals, a continuation of the close-fought drama that thrilled so many in 2022 and 2023. And it was superbly refereed by the fantastic Matthew Carley, who was a brilliant official and made few mistakes throughout the match.
Antoine Dupont
Amazing. Superhuman. Ingenious. Shocking.
There really aren’t enough words to describe the mercurial Toulouse scrum-half.
This was his game, a game in which he left his mark on every aspect of the match. The statistics are remarkable. There were four Jackal turnovers, three of which the France superstar literally singlehandedly halted Leinster attacks in his own half; two in 50 minutes 22 seconds, one a bullet-like clearing kick that you had to see in person and 54 metres of possession that produced a near-flawless individual performance; and one in the 73rd minute that all but prevented Toulouse defeat as Leinster were on the line and just three points behind.
Toulouse wins extra time against Leinster to win their sixth European Cup title
Pre-match the battle between Jamison Gibson-Park and Dupont was tipped to be the key match-up and while no one would say Gibson-Park played poorly, his opponent produced the best performance of his career, particularly at key moments and afterwards when Richie Arnold was sent off for head contact with Cian Healy.
The competition at the breakdown was brilliant and at times downright brutal, but even more brilliant was the fact that the 5ft 8in scrum-half dominated the competition at the ruck, providing perfect evidence of Dupont’s phenomenal rugby talent.
Toulouse’s back row
Before the match, Planet Rugby columnist Paul Gustard noted how dangerous Toulouse’s Jackal attack was for career post tackles, and his words proved prophetic. Top 14 teams forced a record 19 ruck turnovers in normal time and extra time combined, a highly remarkable figure. Despite Leinster’s power and ambition, Toulouse’s defence boasted supreme precision and timing, which was the only difference between these two gladiator-like teams.
Alongside ruck demon Dupont, Jack Willis, Alexandre Lema and Francois Cross, ably assisted by Emmanuel Meafou, all played monumental games. In any decent game of rugby, 30 tackles according to EPCR (though TNT Sports think it was a few more), 3 turnovers and 8 carries would surely earn him a man of the match award, but Willis will look back with great pride on these highly notable individual achievements. He was brilliant and hugely influential throughout the 100 minutes of the game.
Alongside him, talented up-and-coming player Le Mat was also impressive. He was Toulouse’s go-to athlete in the lineout and restart structures and, like Willis, was huge on the carry and clutter, making 19 tackles and stealing two Leinster lineout throws under pressure.
And of course, alongside LeMat and Willis there was the tireless Cross, arguably the most consistent player in Europe this season, who once again provided the definition of ‘perpetual motion’ by making one tackle on Kelan Doris and easily wiping out eight Leinster players.
Toulouse may not have had the running game we are used to seeing but rugby is won and lost at the breakdown and despite being second in scrum time and lacking sharpness in the three-quarters and midfield, they utterly dominated Leinster at the breakdown and that was the basis for their memorable victory.
The moment of limitation
There were so many little battles and magical moments in this epic match. The way Leinster targeted Roman Ntamack and Ramos after Blair Kinghorn moved to the centre was rugby intelligence at the highest level (though they probably should have shown more in other aspects of their game). Jordan Larmour’s tackle on Lebell to deny a try was simply breathtaking and Meafow’s carry and offload in the first half was brilliant skill from the big man.
In the end, Toulouse’s try, as Planet Rugby suggested last week, was targeted at a narrow Leinster defence. With James Rowe off the pitch and Leinster down to 14 men, and Ciaran Frawley also absent through injury, Ntamack and Dupont targeted Leinster’s 13, with Robbie Henshaw defending two positions, and one brilliant mispass put Lebell on his way to becoming champions.
Toulouse player ratings: Antoine Dupont and Jack Willis put in top performances to lead the French powerhouse to its sixth title
Leinster had chances – the scrum was dominated by a world-class performance from Dan Sheehan on and off the pitch, winning five penalties – but for some reason the close-quarters fighting and 1-3-3-1 attacking pod that characterises their game once again seemed lost under the pressure of imminent trophy success.
Leinster may also be regretting their selection policy: Will Connors and Ryan Baird were thoroughly outplayed by Willis and Cross for 45 minutes and it was only with the emergence of two world-class back-rowers in Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan that Leinster began to win clashes.
Leinster put the pressure on
Watching this game and remembering Ireland’s exploits in the past two Champions Cup finals and the World Cup, it’s hard not to wonder about the temperament of Leinster’s players, who once again crumbled under extreme pressure with the big prize on their hands.
Toulouse changed their ruck and defensive dynamics to a much more attacking, attacking system on Saturday and surprised the Irish with their intensity, but analysing the game objectively rather than emotionally, Leinster really struggled to get forward and shape out of an unnamed midfield and lacked the focused tactics to put Leinster in a position to really cause Toulouse trouble.
Given Leinster’s scrum dominance and ball-moving ability around the breakdown, their tendency to play with the ball in the central third of the pitch – a tactic that cost them nine points from three penalties – arguably looked too reckless. There seemed to be too much emphasis in Leinster’s game plan on set planning and practicing plays on the ground and, once again, they failed to react to the game changing before their eyes.
This will be their toughest defeat of their last three games, with Toulouse reduced to 14 men, a reshuffled backline, no recognised second row on the pitch and simply a failure emotionally and intellectually.
read more: Leinster players rated: All-Ireland front row dominates, Jamison Gibson-Park shows his talent but the result is disastrous
