Extra-Time Agony For Leinster As Toulouse Emerge Triumphant

Thomas Ramos struck the killer blows to Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup title challenge, landing two penalties in the second half of extra-time to steer Toulouse to a 31-22 final win in London.

Leo Cullen’s men never led this defence-dominated decider, but recovered from a nervy start with five penalties – four from Ross Byrne, and a levelling 77th-minute kick from replacement Ciarán Frawley – to force extra-time at 15-all.

Frawley almost won it with a late drop goal effort, but Toulouse, with player-of-the-match Antoine Dupont making some key plays at the breakdown and elsewhere, then profited from James Lowe’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.

The French side clinically took a 25-15 lead after replacement Ramos converted Matthis Lebel’s try and then tagged on a penalty. However, they had lock Richie Arnold sent off for a dangerous clear-out on Cian Healy, and suddenly the momentum changed again.

A late Josh van der Flier try, off a close-range ruck, made it a three-point game at the end of a prolonged first period of extra-time. Crucially though, that good work was undone by two costly penalties, which classy kicker Ramos used to put Toulouse out of reach.

Champions Cup heartache has been frustratingly all too familiar for Leinster, with this their third successive final defeat, but they still have BKT United Rugby Championship glory to aim for in the upcoming play-offs.

Speaking in the aftermath, head coach Cullen said: “We are pretty devastated, you can see the guys out there. We poured a huge amount into this campaign. There’s two very good teams going at it so it was probably a game about taking opportunities, that was so important.

“We had plenty of opportunities, couldn’t quite nail them, and Toulouse scrambled well. They pushed the boundaries at times, in terms of defending their own try-line.

“They dug in well. We are pretty devastated again. Our season is not over, we need to turn our attention to the URC. It’s important we show character as a group.

“Devastating day today, credit to Toulouse, (they) showed some of the champion qualities that they have, particularly Antoine Dupont who came up with big moments for his team at different stages.”

Full report to follow…