THE LAST TWO have been heartbreaking but this one might hurt most of all. For the third year in a row, Leinster have lost the Champions Cup final. They cleared their La Rochelle hoodoo to get to this decider but Toulouse will haunt them now.
It took extra time to decide it on this remarkable occasion in London but it’s still so painful for Leo Cullen’s men and their supporters. Toulouse won it, that should be stressed. They defended with incredible resilience and then started extra time at high speed as they took full advantage of a yellow card for James Lowe.
A red card for Toulouse lock Richie Arnold then meant there was brief hope for Leinster but Toulouse finished extra time well too as Thomas Ramos’ place-kicking guided them home. The sublime Antoine Dupont was hugely influential at scrum-half yet again, winning turnovers, kicking 50:22s and challenging the defence every time he was in possession. Blair Kinghorn, Jack Willis, and Romain Ntamack were among the standouts too.
The French club are deserved winners, moving two titles clear of Leinster on six. But Leinster will have regrets. They had more than enough possession and territory in regular time to win this.
Time after time, they left the Toulouse 22 empty-handed through a combination of handling errors, breakdown turnovers, questionable decisions, and that brilliant defence. The margins were fine as always in these high-level finals but in the cold light of day, Leinster will surely feel that they had enough.
