At the end of Toulouse’s sixth victory in the competition, find out what caught the attention of our journalist present in London.
Special correspondent at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
FAVORITES
Toulouse, the brand of the very great
In the final, Toulouse did not lose. Since 2008, and a defeat in the European Cup final against Munster, the Haut-Garonnais club has played in nine finals and won them all. Remarkable tour de force. Incredible regularity. This Saturday, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Rouge et Noir wrote a new page in their history by overcoming Leinster, their bête noire, after extra time. A real trench war, far from the usual beautiful flights of the two clubs. But a superb, intense, bitter finish. History will remember that three finals were played after extra time, and that each time it was Toulouse who won: against Cardiff in 1996, Stade Français in 2005 and Leinster this year. It is written, the people of Toulouse do not know how to lose when he arrives on the last step. Total domination.
The Dupont extraterrestrial
There are no qualifiers to describe his performance. Antoine Dupont was colossal this Saturday in London. In all areas of play. Attack, kicking, defense, he was simply monstrous. And the scrum half and captain of the XV of France led everyone in his wake, he was a leader by example. Capable of single-handedly reversing the pressure when his team was suffering. Able to scratch balloons at the best time. Since his time with the French 7s team, he seems even stronger, even more dynamic, more athletic. Logically, he was voted best European of the season. And it’s hard to see who can compete with him for the title of best player in the world 2024. On another planet. Rarely in the history of rugby has a player appeared so dominant.
Read alsoThe notes of Toulouse against Leinster: Dupont immense, Willis irreducible fighter
Ramos, the beautiful story
At kick-off, he was a substitute. As in all the matches of this European campaign at Stade Toulousain. Ugo Mola and his staff preferred the Scotsman Balir Kinghorn, who met expectations and delivered a full and serious match against Leinster. But, when he came on in the 58th minute of play in place of Paul Costes, Thomas Ramos put on the savior costume. He didn’t tremble and scored three penalties (he just missed one) which made the difference in London. A nice revenge? Rather a great story for the back of the XV of France. Ugo Mola announced that his team would need him at the end of the match. This is what happened. Winning coaching.
Thomas Ramos relieved his team at the very end of overtime. John Sibley / REUTERS
CLAW STRIKES
Leinster, power (minus) four
Evil tongues will say that Leinster now holds a record in the Champions Cup: that of lost finals (4). It would be forgetting that the Irish have also won four continental crowns and could have matched Toulouse if they had won. But the bill is heavy: the province of Dublin has not won since 2018 and then lost in the four finals it played. One wonders if the Leinstermen are not having a complex against the French: two losses against La Rochelle, plus one against Stade Toulousain. The fact remains that the Irish remain a reference in this competition. This Saturday, they came across stronger players, the Rouge et Noir dominated them in the ground game and the battle of the rucks. A sector that has become crucial in modern rugby.
Read alsoChampions Cup: at the end of the suspense and the fight, Toulouse wins a sixth star
The Toulouse scrum well stirred up
This is certainly the big downside to Toulouse’s performance this Saturday. At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the red-and-black scrum was really shaken, even crushed several times. Quite surprising to see that. Facing the Irish internationals, the Toulouse front line experienced several failures. Fortunately, this had no consequences for Thibaud Flament and his teammates. Be careful, however, at the end of the season in the Top 14. In the French championship, this sector is even more essential.
The failed bet of the 6/2 Irish
With the arrival of South African Jacques Nienaber (former coach of the Springboks) in his staff, Leinster played this on several occasions with a 6/2 bench, with six forwards and two backs. A sort of trademark of the Boks with their famous “bomb squad”, where there are sometimes even seven forwards and only one back. Against Toulouse, this tactical option ultimately did not work. The Toulouse forwards (with the entries in particular from Julien Marchand) first of all competed throughout the game but, above all, Toulouse made the difference at the end of the match thanks to Lebel’s try and Ramos’ three penalties. Even with the red card received by Richie Arnold… Supposed to reverse the trend and reverse the course of the match, this strong tactic from the Irish (which was not their habit before) did not work. We often forget it but, before starting the game, Stade Toulousain has one of the roughest packs in Europe. Leinster, punished in the ground game, bitterly observed this Saturday.
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