Toulouse will face Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup final after overcoming a close 38-26 win against Harlequins at Le Stadium on Sunday.
Antoine Dupont scored twice and Matthijs Lebel, Piet Mauvaca, Thibaut Flament and Juan Cruz María also crossed to earn them a ticket to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Marcus Smith, Will Evans, Kaydan Marley and Tyrone Green will replace Harlequins, who withdrew from the competition after mounting a fierce fightback in the second half.
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Harlequins gave it their all and were only five points behind after more than an hour, but Toulouse had enough.
Toulouse broke through the blocks and took the lead just four minutes after a lineout steal deep inside Quins’ 22.
It was a terrible mistake by the visiting team, but Toulouse punished them mercilessly by allowing Romain Ntamak’s long, floating pass to allow Lebel to reach the goal line without resistance.
Ntamak and his respected halfback partner Dupont were free to dig into Trick’s box and it took 12 minutes for Quinn to emerge from his own half. It was Toulouse’s advantage, but they responded brilliantly.
Quins’ attack put Toulouse on the back foot, and when No. 8 Alex Dombrandt closed in, Smith weaved through three defenders to score a try, which he also converted.
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But then the Quins were overcome by Toulouse’s power game, with an accurate lineout drive by Maubaka and a goal by Blair Kinghorn to take a 12-7 lead after the first quarter.
The entertainment and quality remained undiminished, with Quins leveling the scores when Evans touched down following a lineout surge that matched Toulouse’s attack, before Flamand got his team back in front.
Toulouse’s third try was a direct result of scrum-half Danny Care’s pass being deflected by flanker Chandler Cunningham-South, and Flament almost put his fortune to rest as Quins found themselves behind once again. I could not believe it.
However, there was no luck for the number 4 try as Toulouse attacked from deep through a fine break from central Paul Costes and his well-judged kick into space was collected by the chasing Dupont. There was no.
The game quickly moved away from Quinn, and four minutes later Dupont scored again, this time benefiting from an outstanding performance from Mauvaka, and two more Kinghorn conversions gave Toulouse a commanding 19-point interval advantage. brought about.
Quins needed a lifeline early in the second period and it arrived 46 minutes later when Smith’s long pass found Marley and his acrobatic finish (which Smith scored from near the touchline) gave them hope. produced light.
And things got even better seven minutes later when Marley scored another great goal before Care’s pass set off Green and Smith’s conversion left Quins within range.
However, Toulouse regained their composure thanks to Jack Walker’s yellow card and Maria was just moments away from scoring before Thomas Ramos’ conversion put Quins under huge pressure.
And after a memorable 10-try spectacle, there was no turning back for the visitors as the Englishman’s interest in this season’s tournament was over.
team
Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Juan Cruz Maria, 13 Paul Costes, 12 Pita Aki, 11 Matisse Rubel, 10 Romain Ntamak, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Luma, 7 Jack Willis , 6 François Clos, 5 Thibault Flamand, 4 Emmanuel Mairfou, 3 Dorian Aldegueri, 2 Piet Mauvaca, 1 Cyril Bayle.
Replacement: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Rodrigue Netty, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Matisse Castro Ferreira, 21 Paul Grauhou, 22 Santiago Chocobarres, 23 Tomas Ramos
Harlequin: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Lewis Reiner, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kaydan Marley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Stephen Lewis (c), 4 Arne Herbst, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Finn Baxter
Replacement: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 George Hammond, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referee: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ollie Hodges (Ireland)
read more: “Something almost terrifying happened” – James Rowe reflects on Leinster’s narrow win over Northampton Saints
