Champions Cup final: Be very afraid as Toulouse are more menacing than ever

Last Sunday night at an atmospheric, expectant and jam-packed Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse hosted Stade Français in a Top 14 summit meeting. The Parisians arrived in the Pink City atop the table, fully loaded after a week’s rest, and also having won four and drawn one of the clubs’ previous five meetings. Yet Toulouse could afford to rest Romain Ntamack among others, while leaving Antoine Dupont as an unused sub, and still won 49-18.

Coming a fortnight out from the meeting of European royalty with Leinster in the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, this was quite a statement of intent as Les Rouges et Noirs seek to add to their unrivalled hauls of five Champions Cup and 22 Boucliers de Brennus.

Other changes to the team that had beaten Harlequins 38-26 in the Champions Cup semi-finals a week previously included Ugo Mola resting Blair Kinghorn and 21-year-old centre Paul Costes, while Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou and François Cros were on the bench.

Such is their depth of international quality that the fleet-footed Italian Ange Capuozzo – who has featured just once, off the bench, in this season’s Champions Cup – was afforded his sixth start of the season.

The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times

---

Will Andy Farrell pick his son Owen for the Lions tour? Questions for the Irish boss to consider with one year to go

---

Leinster’s Rhys Ruddock announces he will retire from rugby

---

Gerry Thornley: Danger of mental scarring for Leinster following latest gut-wrenching final defeat

---

After Matthis Lebel scored off a pinpoint kick-pass by the versatile Argentinian Juan Cruiz Mallia, the brilliant Capuozzo came across his wing to put scrumhalf Paul Graou over with a sumptuous step and offload.

Centre Pita Ahki completed a typical Toulouse bout of continuity before Mallia intercepted and grubbered deftly for fullback Thomas Ramos to score. After the bench was unloaded (bar Dupont), gargantuan ex-New South Wales Country Eagles lock Meafou had two close-range finishes from tap-penalty trick plays to complete the bonus-point win.

With that, Toulouse moved to first, three points clear of Stade Français and seven ahead of Bordeaux-Bègles (34-14 winners over La Rochelle last Saturday) in third, thus leaving them well placed to qualify directly for their domestic semi-finals.

Toulouse play Montpellier, currently in the relegation playoff place, away next Saturday and after the final against Leinster, host La Rochelle before finishing away to Lyon. “Trois bonnes journées à faire (three good days to come),” Mola calmly underlined to his players in the on-field huddle after Sunday’s win.

Yet after the victory over Harlequins, Mola had strongly intimated that his frontliners will be rested from the trip to Montpellier, with the Leinster final in mind.

Toulouse would, of course, ideally like to complete a double, something they have only achieved twice, in 1995-96 (when winning the inaugural European Cup) and the pandemic affected 2020-21 season. But if they had to choose only one trophy, you’d suspect it would be the Champions Cup.

When this season’s competition kicked off last December, Toulouse had been having a ho-hum campaign. Their 27-12 loss away to Stade Français on December 3rd was their fourth defeat in their opening nine games. Along with the other bulk suppliers, Bordeaux-Bègles and La Rochelle, they were seemingly suffering from the French post-World Cup hangover.

Whereupon the arrival of Cardiff in the Champions Cup sparked Toulouse into life. They had the bonus point by half-time and went on to win by 52-7. A week later, even more impressively, they travelled to the Stoop and scored another seven tries in a 47-19 win, the bonus point secured by the 43rd minute. Cue a run of 11 wins in a dozen games.

Beaten at the semi-final stage at the Aviva Stadium by Leinster in the last two seasons, and also five seasons ago, Toulouse were evidently determined to having to take the same route again. They stormed to a 48-24 win over Ulster in the Kingspan last January, again scoring seven tries, with Dupont’s second securing the bonus point by the 48th minute.

Bath extended them in the Stade Ernest Wallon a week later, the bonus point not arriving until the 77th minute, but Toulouse duly secured top seeding in the knock-out stages and a home route, while avoiding Leinster, to the final.

As Leinster know well, this counts for little, but by every metric Toulouse are this season’s most potent side in the Champions Cup, be it the most points (311), tries (46), carries (896), metres made (3,716), clean breaks (97) and defenders beaten (167).

Their post-World Cup injury toll has eased, with only Anthony Jelonch sidelined after recovering from one serious knee injury only to succumb to a second one.

The biggest boon, for player and club, was Dupont being excused duty from the Six Nations due to his Olympics Sevens commitments. As French captain at their home World Cup, no one had carried a heavier load than the game’s greatest player. He’s been refreshed and revived.

Since making his seasonal reappearance for Toulouse in the loss away to Castres last November, Dupont has selectively started another 13 games this season. This includes three at outhalf and all seven in the Champions Cup, and Toulouse have won all 13.

Just as significantly, after missing both the World Cup and the Six Nations due to the ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee during France’s 30-27 win over Scotland in Saint-Etienne last August, Ntamack has started four games since his comeback off the bench against Pau at the end of March.

As well as being Dupont’s kindred spirit, and a player for the clutch moments – witness his match-winning interventions in finals against La Rochelle at Twickenham three years ago and last season in the Stade de France despite off-colour displays – Ntamack is also the best defensive French outhalf.

Perhaps most revealing of all was Mola declaring publicly before the Harlequins semi-final that while this was a very good Toulouse side, “they haven’t made history”. It was probably said to provoke his players.

After all, this group have won three French titles in the last five seasons as well as the 2021 Champions Cup.

But the latter was in a truncated, Covid-affected campaign, and in front of a restricted 10,000 crowd at Twickenham., What’s more, save for that inaugural win against Cardiff, their ensuing final wins have all been against French sides, namely Perpignan, Stade Français, Biarritz and La Rochelle.

Beating four-time winners Leinster, while avenging three semi-final defeats and settling a few Six Nations scores in some instances, would almost represent a crowning glory.

No less than Leinster, there can be little doubt that winning this season’s Champions Cup final for the ages next Saturday week is the one that Toulouse want.

gerry.thornley@irishtimes.com

• Listen and subscribe to our Counter Ruck rugby podcast
• Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
• Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date