Stade Toulouse in the Champions Cup final, act VIII. Already titled five times, and finalists in 2004 and 2008, Toulouse will have the opportunity to be crowned once again on May 25 thanks to their victory this Sunday against Harlequins (38-26). They will face Leinster in the final, their runner-up in the Champions Cup with four titles, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. A kind of Star Wars!
However, this semi-final was not as easy as expected. While the two teams had already faced each other in the group stage, with an easy Toulouse victory (19-47), this meeting was much more closely contested. For 80 minutes, the French and English went blow for blow. If Toulouse took the advantage in the first period, Harlequins reacted well in the second act, and made the crowd at the Toulouse Stadium tremble.
A first half at 100 miles an hour
The first try of the match was scored by Matthis Lebel, after a great domination of Stade Toulouse from the kick-off. The winger of the XV of France, alone on his left side, was joined by a long pass from Romain Ntamack and flattened without difficulty (4th, 5-0). The reaction from Harlequins was quick to arrive. After a big sequence in the Toulouse 22m, Alex Dombrandt failed a few centimeters but Marcus Smith recovered the ball, broke Peato Mauvaka’s tackle and flattened it to the left of the posts (14th, 5-7).
Revengeful, the French hooker gave his team the advantage by being at the conclusion of a magnificent, perfectly executed ball (19th, 12-7). A short-lived lead since, on another ball carried following a touch five meters from the Toulouse in-goal, Will Evans restored the tie (24th, 12-12).
The madness was far from over. Three minutes later, after a good Toulouse effort to recover the ball, Thibaud Flament stole the ball from Chandler Cunningham-South to flatten alone along the sideline (27th, 17-12). It was then Paul Costes’ turn to shine. The young 21-year-old center, starting alongside Pita Akhi, launched a counter-attack from 22m, eliminated a defender with a fabulous hook and extended foot. The ball finally returned to the arms of Antoine Dupont, who scored his first try of the afternoon (33rd, 24-12).
Jack Walker’s yellow card as a turning point
The captain of the XV of France added his double a few minutes later, after a big scratch from Alexandre Roumat (37th, 31-12). After the referee’s whistle, Antoine Dupont played quickly and made his forwards work. It was finally Peato Mauvaka who broke through the defense, but failed just in front of the line. In support, the scrum half recovered the ball and scored Toulouse’s 5th try.
With their backs to the wall, Harlequins tried to react from the start of the second half. In the corner, winger Cadan Murley scored the third try for the English this Sunday afternoon, first reducing the gap (46th, 31-19). The Harlequins then set fire to the Toulouse defense. Completely disorganized, the Stadistes came under pressure from the English. After a breakthrough from Cadan Murley, Tyrone Green flattened under the posts and scared an entire stadium (53rd, 31-26).
The turning point of the match finally arrived in the 67th minute. While neither team wanted to give in, English hooker Jack Walker received a yellow card for head-to-head contact with Antoine Dupont on a clearance. On the sideline that followed, the ball crossed the entire field to arrive in the arms of Juan Cruz Mallia, who resisted two defenders to score Toulouse’s 6th try (69th, 38-26). It was the final blow for the English, who never returned to the game.
