Leinster 22-31 Toulouse (AET): French side clinch record-extending sixth Champions Cup title in epic final
Full-back Blair Kinghorn kicked four penalties, wing Matthis Lebel scored a vital try and replacement Thomas Ramos kicked a further four penalties as Toulouse beat Leinster after extra-time in an epic Champions Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium despite Richie Arnold's red card
By Michael Cantillon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Last Updated: 26/05/24 3:37pm
Toulouse clinched a record-extending sixth Champions Cup crown, as they beat Leinster 31-22 after extra-time in an epic final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The French side - led by a majestic Antoine Dupont performance - were never behind in the final but had two potential tries ruled out by a matter of inches in either half, and were pegged back by Leinster in an 80 minutes dominated by penalties.
Locked at 15-15 at the end of full-time, the Champions Cup final headed to extra-time for only the third time in its history (1996, 2005), and like on each of the prior occasions, Toulouse lifted the trophy.
Leinster wing James Lowe was sin-binned early in extra-time for a deliberate knock-on, and when Toulouse wing Matthis Lebel scored a stunning try - and Thomas Ramos then kicked them into a 10-point lead with another penalty - the final finally appeared won.
That was until Toulouse lock Richie Arnold was shown a red card for a high tackle on Cian Healy, and a controversial Josh van der Flier try left Leinster three points behind with the entire 10 minutes of the second half of extra-time to play.
The 14 players of Toulouse proceed to carve out two further penalties in that period, however, both of which Ramos dispatched to cue French delirium in north London.
- As it happened: Leinster 22-31 (AET) Toulouse
- The greatest Champions Cup finals in history
- Gloucester suffer crushing Challenge Cup final defeat to Sharks
Toulouse thought they had a try less than 90 seconds in, as a lightning attack eventually saw Dupont pop an offload inside for wing Juan Cruz Mallia to finish. The score was ruled out after a TMO review, however, which showed Dupont's foot had just scraped the touchline before he got the ball away as a result of tremendous Jamison Gibson-Park defence.
The French side kept up their dominant start, though, and moved ahead in the fourth minute when Kinghorn struck a penalty over superbly from halfway after Leinster centre Jamie Osborne had lay on the wrong side of a breakdown.
Four minutes later, Kinghorn repeated the trick off the tee - again from distance - as monstrous lock Emmanuel Meafou led a counter-ruck which forced Robbie Henshaw to enter from the side, seeing Toulouse move 6-0 in front with Leinster having barely touched the ball.
Toulouse centre Pita Ahki let the restart to that second penalty bounce, and that signalled a spell of Leinster attack during which they kicked to the corner twice in search of tries, but were stopped by a combination of strong Toulouse defence and stuttering attack.
Indeed, Leinster's first chance at a driving maul in the Toulouse 22 was halted close to the try-line, before subsequent attacks broke down due to Henshaw and Ross Byrne getting wires crossed, a Byrne cross-field kick to Dan Sheehan failing to come off, and scrappy five-metre lineout ball eventually seeing Jason Jenkins knock-on in the 22 under pressure from Romain Ntamack.
In the 19th minute, Byrne got Leinster onto the scoreboard as the Irish province chose to kick for points after Toulouse tighthead Dorian Aldegheri was penalised for playing the ball off feet at the breakdown.
At one end, Ntamack and Dupont combined fantastically well to produce a breakdown penalty in the Toulouse 22 after a Henshaw burst up the middle of the pitch had given Leinster momentum, while a Toulouse attack at the other was then disrupted when Leinster played Dupont's arm at a ruck in the act of passing. Lowe's clearing kick was charged by Dupont, only for Ryan Baird to scramble the ball away.
Just shy of the half-hour, a huge chance fell Leinster's way when hooker Sheehan showed extraordinary pace to sprint from his own half on turnover ball to within metres of the try-line, where Kinghorn had worked exceptionally hard to track across the field and bring him down. Dupont then forced a priceless breakdown penalty, jackaling over the ball and allowing Toulouse to clear.
A stunningly inch-perfect 50:22 from Dupont set Toulouse attacking in the Leinster 22 as the half drew to a close, and once Joe McCarthy knocked on an intercept attempt and Leinster loosehead Andrew Porter was penalised at the scrum, Kinghorn kicked the French side 9-3 ahead with little time remaining.
Byrne kicked the restart dead, and when Henshaw was penalised for a late hit on Argentina midfielder Santiago Chocobares, Kinghorn was handed the tee for a difficult attempt from distance only five metres in from touch. The Scot produced his only miss of the final as his kick slipped wide.
With the clock in the red, Dupont chose not to kick out and end the half near halfway, and was ruthlessly punished as Sheehan won a breakdown penalty after the Toulouse scrum-half had carried into contact.
Leinster kicked to touch from there, with a fabulous Caelan Doris carry preceding a penalty to narrow the gap to three points via Byrne, after Toulouse were caught offside nearly four minutes into dead time at the end of the first half.
Baird won a breakdown penalty four minutes into the second half, but impressive Toulouse No 8 Alexandre Roumat replied with a lineout steal. Three minutes later, Leinster were level on the scoreboard as Byrne struck through after another Toulouse offside.
End-to-end stuff saw sensational defence from both sides when under pressure - Dupont and marvellous flanker Jack Willis combining to force a maul unplayable five metres out, Leinster defending strongly through several midfield phases - and just prior to the hour mark, Kinghorn kicked Toulouse back into the lead as Leinster were caught offside themselves.
A very harsh forward pass call against Toulouse out-half Ntamack in his own half handed Leinster a route into the 22 before long, and when the French side failed to roll away, Byrne levelled the final again at 12-12 from close range with 14 minutes to play.
With 11 minutes to go, Lebel looked to have flown in for a telling try in the corner after latching onto a brilliant Ntamack kick-pass, but TMO replays showed Leinster wing Jordan Larmour had done phenomenally well to just get his opposite wing's trailing leg into touch before a grounding.
A stunning Ramos strike on the angle after a maul penalty put Toulouse within touching distance with nine minutes to play, but though Dupont conjured another significant breakdown steal in the 22, a costly scrum penalty saw Leinster replacement Ciaran Frawley keep his cool to level matters with two minutes remaining.
A highly dramatic period of extra-time in Tottenham
A Frawley drop-goal landed wide just before the end of normal time, but less than two minutes into extra-time Lowe was shown yellow for sticking a hand out to block a Dupont offload, denying a line-break.
Ramos missed the penalty attempt, but seconds later Toulouse took full advantage of the space out wide as Lebel scorched in down the left after Ramos and Chocobares had combined to get round Larmour and Hugo Keenan.
Ramos converted and then added a penalty with two minutes to go before half-time in extra-time - after a second Dupont 50:22, and another driving maul decision - for a seemingly unassailable 10-point lead.
Indeed, Toulouse were then awarded another kickable penalty (Dupont over the ball once more), but before it could be taken, TMO replays showed Arnold had caught Healy in the head with his chest/shoulder, for which he was sent from the field of play.
In the final play of the first period of extra-time - with Lowe back onto the pitch - Van der Flier dived for the line but did not celebrate as Toulouse hooker Julien Marchand appeared to hold the ball up. Despite the on-field decision going up as 'No try', the score was eventually awarded after a lengthy period of replays in which referee Matt Carley decided he could see the ball grounded.
Favourites from that position, Leinster failed to properly fire a shot in the second period of extra-time, as Toulouse rolled their sleeves up to force the penalties which sealed a dramatic victory.
First, Keenan put a foot in touch under a Dupont box-kick near halfway in an error which preceded a blatant play of the ball off feet from Doris at a ruck, allowing Ramos to stretch the lead to six points. When Marchand jackalled over an isolated Healy shortly after, Ramos struck again for a two-score lead.
Leinster had no response, prompting French tears of joy after an engrossing contest.
