the Stade Toulouse crowned for the sixth time by bringing down Leinster at the end of a breathtaking final

Winners of a very physical match (31-22), Saturday in London, the Toulouse residents are once again on the roof of Europe.

In the legend. Through talent and above all energy, Toulouse won a sixth Champions Cup title on Saturday May 25 by dominating Leinster (31-22)., after extra time, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Manhandled by the conquering Irish and on fire after returning from the locker room, Ugo Mola’s men showed themselves heroic in defense, before an anthology extension.

In front at the break (9-6), Toulouse were caught three minutes from the end of the match on a penalty from Ciaran Frawley (15-15). The Irish substitute flyhalf even came within a few centimeters of becoming the hero of his team, his drop failing very narrowly next to the poles, less than 30 seconds from the end of the match.

Having come very close to a heartbreak, the Toulouse residents relied on their captain Antoine Dupont to grab one last ball and head towards overtime. The only team to have played all the extra periods in history in the Champions Cup final, after 1996 and 2005, the Stadium went through all the emotions during the extra 20 minutes.

Euphoria first, with the quick, and perhaps severe, yellow card addressed to Irish winger James Lowe, for a voluntary throw-in after less than two minutes in the extra period. A fault not punished at first with the failure of Thomas Ramos against the poles.

Almost immediately, Matthis Lebel freed his team from a mad rush on his wing, perfectly offset by a nice Toulouse movement. A first try (83rd) in this match which deserved a “tongued” celebration for the young player born in Toulouse and a pure product of the Rouge et Noir team. The three points added by Thomas Ramos less than five minutes later suggested an idyllic end to the match, thanks to a comfortable 10-point lead.

But, when getting a penalty to allow them to get a little further away, Richie Arnold was guilty of clearing a header on Cian Healy. Logically excluded (90th) by the referee of the day Matthew Carley, the Australian could only observe, prostrate, the reduction of the score by Josh van der Flier (94th) just before the break in this extra time. With three points ahead but one player less, Toulouse saw the demons of the past resurface, those who so often saw it pay a heavy price for its numerical inferiority against Leinster.

Except that this Toulouse stadium has not learned to lose its finals. From the start, the Red and Black put the Irish under pressure, obtaining two penalties in quick succession to increase the gap to nine points. Enough to protect themselves from a transformed try, but above all enough to put a blow behind the heads of the Leinstermen. Ciaran Frawley tried to reduce the score, but his drop failed again to the left of the poles.

Long lacking in attack, Antoine Dupont and his teammates above all showed impressive defensive self-sacrifice for 100 minutes. With 258 tackles made (91% success), they undermined Leinster’s intentions in the scoring zone, as evidenced by the 18 ball losses and 15 penalties conceded on the Irish side. At the end of themselves, like Emmanuel Meafou out on his knees, the Toulouse residents achieved one of the greatest successes in their history.