Toulouse edge Leinster in Champions Cup final thriller
France scrum-half Antoine Dupont has now won two Champions Cups as captain of Toulouse
- Published
Investec Champions Cup: Leinster 22-31 Toulouse (after extra time)
Leinster: (6) 15 FT
Try: Van der Flier Pens: R Byrne 4, Frawley Cons: Frawley
Toulouse: (9) 15 FT
Try: Lebel Pens: Kinghorn 4, Ramos 4 Cons: Ramos
Toulouse's Thomas Ramos kicked three extra-time penalties to help edge out Leinster in a pulsating Investec Champions Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Wing Matthis Lebel scored the first try in extra time for the French side, before team-mate Richie Arnold was sent off for a dangerous clearout at a ruck.
Leinster took advantage and scored through Josh van der Flier, but replacement Ramos sealed Toulouse's sixth European Cup crown with two penalties in the second half of extra time.
Ciaran Frawley, also on as a replacement, could have won the game for the Irish province in normal time, but dragged a last-minute drop-goal wide.
The result means Leinster have now lost three Champions Cup finals in a row, after back-to-back defeats by La Rochelle.
Victory means Toulouse are now two titles clear of Leinster as the most successful club in European rugby.
Leinster come up short again
Last year's final felt like the perfect chance for Leinster to bring home that fifth European star, racing into a 17-point lead at home in Dublin before Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle mounted a tremendous comeback.
A beautiful day in London exploded into a similar frantic opening period, even without the mad scoring to show for it.
Toulouse thought they had struck first when Antoine Dupont produced a spectacular offload, but his opposite number Jamison Gibson-Park managed to force the mercurial captain into touch.
The Top 14 side, who last won the competition in 2021, took the lead through two well-struck Blair Kinghorn penalties from distance, before Ross Byrne got Leinster on the board.
It was a bold selection call to start the Scotland full-back over the high-percentage goal-kicking of Ramos.
But Kinghorn was picked for his well-rounded game and his chase back to prevent Dan Sheehan getting over showed just that - preventing what looked a certain try as Dupont won the subsequent penalty.
For the neutral last year, an Ireland v France World Cup final was what many wanted, for the atmosphere and quality that would have been on display.
With 14 French internationals and 20 Irish on display in London there was proper Test-match intensity, with both defences putting in monstrous hits and only another penalty apiece kicked before the break.
Cool Ramos kicks Toulouse to glory
Leo Cullen's side have knocked out the French giants convincingly at the semi-final stage in Dublin over the past two seasons.
But finals are different. The Irish province won the Champions Cup in 2018 against Racing 92 without scoring a try, and when Byrne levelled the game that looked the likely way to victory again.
Double World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber was brought in by Cullen to help bring South Africa’s mentality of closing out finals.
However, with nothing between the teams heading into extra time, it was instead Ugo Mola's side who showed the temperament required to win Europe's biggest prize.
After James Lowe was yellow carded, Lebel raced down the wing and produced a smile of someone who had just scored the winning try in a Champions Cup final.
Dupont, named player of the match, may have sacrificed the 2024 Six Nations in hope of playing sevens at a home Olympics, however, when it came to Toulouse and Europe he made it clear he was not going to miss any big games.
But it was the cool head of Ramos, who was also on the bench for Toulouse's semi-final victory over Harlequins, that delivered the crushing blows to Leinster.
The Top 14 side scored a bucketload of tries throughout the competition to secure top seeds - and avoid another trip to Dublin - heading into the knockout stages.
This neutral venue in London proved vital as Dupont's side proved why they are the ultimate kings of Europe.
Line-ups
Leinster: Keenan; Larmour, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe; R Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Jenkins, Baird, Connors, Doris (capt).
Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Ala'alatoa, Ryan, Conan, McGrath, Frawley, Van der Flier.
Sin-bin: Lowe (81)
Toulouse: Kinghorn; Mallia, Costes, Ahki, Lebel; Ntamack, Dupont (capt); Baille, Mauvaka, Aldegheri, Flament, Meafou, Willis, Cros, Roumat.
Replacements: Marchand, Neti, Merkler, Arnold, Brennan, Graou, Chocobares, Ramos.
Sent off: Arnold (89)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)