Key events
17 min: A loose line-out from Leinster but they eventually pick it up. They run it through the hands and McCarthy thinks he has scored but referee Carley does well to see it was knocked on by Leinster in the build-up. The Irish side edging closer though.
15 min: Leinster keep knocking on the door and Toulouse give away a breakdown penalty, the referee plays advantage and we come back to it. Leinster kick to the corner again.
13 min: The resulting line-out from Leinster is clean, Byrne puts in a crossfield kick and Sheehan collects. Instead of running to the line himself he passes back inside and the referee is now looking to see if Roumat deliberately knocked on. He didn’t and so we have a Leinster line-out close to the line.
13 min: A rolling maul is collapsed but Leinster keep coming, it felt as though they were going to score but Gibson-Park spills and Toulouse then wins a penalty. The French side look to counter quickly but they have their own handling error and it’s out.
11 min: Leinster are back n the attack and they have an advantage, it comes to Lowe who throws a rogue pass but it eventually comes to an Irish hand. Toulouse give away another penalty and so we are back for the initial infringement, will they go to the corner or for posts? They go for corner.
10 min: The restart is taken expertly from Leinster and they start their first promising attack. They run through the phases but McCarthy spills and Toulouse can kick away. The Irish side showing hints of the danger they pose.
PENALTY! Leinster 0-6 Toulouse (Kinghorn, 8)
He does it again.
7 min: Kinghorn is kicking this penalty again, another long range one.
7 min: This is the momentum I was speaking about earlier, the French side have had it so far and they have compounded that with that penalty. Leinster are looking to throw their first punch now, running it through the hands but Toulouse do really well to turn it over at the breakdown through Meafou.
PENALTY! Leinster 0-3 Toulouse (Kinghorn, 5)
A HUGE boot on Kinghorn, he slots it from halfway. Wow.
5 min: Toulouse win a penalty as Osborne is offside, it may be on the halfway line but Kinghorn points to the sticks. The Scotland international is kicking to posts today.
4 min: Leinster did clear which led to a Toulose line-out, it’s clean from the French side and they eventually kick away through Ntamack. Leinster under immense pressure as they box kick but it’s cleared. A frantic start!
3 min: The TMO agrees with Carley’s decision, no try as Dupont is out. Wow, that would have been very special if it stood. Leinster now able to clear. A warning shot from Toulouse.
2 min: Matthew Carley wanted to check if Dupont was onside from a kick and he is. Now they are checking if he is out when he offloads, I think he is.
2 min: My word, is this a try? Referee checking a Toulouse try here.
2 min: Some kicks exchanged in the early stages and it ends with Dupont cleaning up and taking it through the hands.
Kick-off! Leinster 0-0 Toulouse
Here we go then. Will it be a sixth title for Toulouse or a fifth for Leinster? 80 minutes and maybe some added time to decide it.
The players are out at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, this final is about to get underway. A piece of history is up for grabs but who will take it? We will soon find out.
“If Toulouse can deal with Leinster’s Bok tune up thanks to Nienaber, the faster line speed & aggressive blitz, then the difference will be Dupont. He is a big game player ‘big game players make big time plays when it matters’,” John McEnery has said. “Savage battle incoming. Too close to call.”
I completely agree John, it is definitely hard to predict who will win today. Today will see momentum play a huge part, if teams can capitalise while they have it that could be the difference. If they let it breeze past them, as Gloucester did last night, it may be costly.
What are you up to on this bank holiday weekend? Enjoying the sun or having a lounge or both? Let me know via email or X (@rendellx).
Former England and Harlequins wing Ugo Monye has written a column about today’s match, have a read of it here:
Here is what Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said of his selection of Will Connors over Josh van der Flier: “He’s such a dynamic player, Josh [Van der Flier], we’ve always discussed different ways to get impacts off the bench, and Will [Connors] has been excellent in the couple of games he’s played, and the role he’ll deliver for the team.
“Hopefully we’ll have a good combination there, I think it’s important we have that freshness in those big games.”
Leinster may have found it difficult to win the Champions Cup over the last three finals they have played in (2023, 2022 and 2019) but they have already won four titles in their history. They are the club with the second-most Champions Cup titles. And who has more the most I hear you ask? Toulouse, of course.
Antoine Dupont’s teammates call him the Martian because they can’t understand how he is so good.
Toulouse lock Emmanuel Meafou said: “The boys joke around and call him ‘the Martian’ as he is not from earth, he is an alien.
“You can’t do anything but shake your head and wish you could do that too. The stuff he does in games is only half of what he is capable of.”
Jamison Gibson-Park would be the best number nine if it wasn’t for his opposition today, Antoine Dupont. The Ireland scrum-half is excited by his battle with the French phenomenon this afternoon.
Gibson-Park said: “These are the moments you dream of in my position. He’s the number one player, the best player in the world these last few seasons.
“It’s a huge challenge for players in our position. But it’s the team who are facing him.”
Have a read of Rob Kitson’s preview of the final here:
The team news has been announced. Leinster have their likely stars in their line-up, like full-back Hugo Keenan, but there is one selection that has raised a few eyebrows.
Will Connors has been selected ahead of Josh van der Flier. Connors has impressed this season and started against La Rochelle in the quarters.
Leinster: Keenan; Larmour, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe; R Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Jenkins, Baird, Connors, Doris (capt).
Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Ryan, Conan, McGrath, Frawley, Van der Flier.
For Toulouse Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack make up the half-back partnership. The big call came at full-back with Blair Kinghorn starting ahead of Thomas Ramos.
Toulouse: Kinghorn; Mallia, Costes, Ahki, Lebel; Ntamack, Dupont (capt); Baille, Mauvaka, Aldegheri, Flament, Meafou, Willis, Cros, Roumat.
Replacements: Marchand, Neti, Merkler, Arnold, Brennan, Graou, Chocobares, Ramos.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Champions Cup final between Leinster and Toulouse. This is set to be a tasty match between two powerhouses in Europe but Leinster are looking to break their run of unfortunate final results.
This is their third consecutive Champions Cup final but in the previous two finals they fell short to French side La Rochelle. They exorcised their La Rochelle demons in the quarter-finals this season, beating Ronan O’Gara’s team 40-13. They then dispatched of in-form Northampton Saints in the semis and so they may potentially have the favourites edge today but they are coming up against a tough opposition this afternoon.
Toulouse are a formidable team themselves this season with wins over Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins in the quarters and semis. They also have some international stars who will have an impact, including arguably the best player in the world in Antoine Dupont.
Dupont has been plying his trade in the sevens game internationally but he has continued his form in the 15s for his club. That is not to say Leinster don’t have their own stars with the majority of the starting 15 being current Ireland internationals.
The team news is already available and so stay tuned for all the updates shortly ahead of kick-off at 2.45pm BST.
