CHAMPIONS CUP FINAL | THE POST MATCH REVIEW | Leinster v Toulouse

[@ericsicard910]

Willis was a monster. For Dupont there is simply no word.

[@TheRugbySocial]

The RFU definitely need to reconsider there overseas player policy. Willis is too good to ignore.

[@hidroxttv4238]

There is not doubt that Willis deserves to play for England - What a game!

[@neilmontgomery3470]

I was at the match. As a Leinster fan I'm disappointed we lost but strangely not too upset. Never good to be beaten but if I had pick another team to lose to it would be Toulouse. Such a great rugby team and the fans were great too. I think most Leinster fans were a bit apprehensive about this match. Unlike the other finals we got to in recent years, our form was a bit mixed. Our defense under Nienaber has definitely improved but our attack has declined a bit from where it was. Nienaber has only been with the club since January so the focus was probably almost totally on getting that new system right in time for the knockouts. Unfortunately, I think other aspects of our game has suffered as a result. The multi phase attack is nowhere as good as it was previously or with the same players in the Ireland team. We have new players and coaches next year and a proper pre season I think we can improve substantially. However, congratulation to Toulouse, the greatest European team ever. A sad few days for us Leinster fans but how many teams in the world could hold this Toulouse team tryless for 80 minutes and still almost win in the last few seconds? We will go again!

[@TheRugbySocial]

I love this comment - this kind of thoughtful pragmatic analysis and appreciation for the opposition is why I love club rugby. Good luck for the rest of the season and beyond.

[@PierreLeger1]

As Toulouse fan I can tell you all Toulouse supporter think we won but the best European team is Leinster a bit in front of Toulouse. Think of it... 3 final in a row. Thats just incredible and show how good Leinster is. I just think there is a mental gap when it comes to make the kill on those critical game. Don t know why, but you should have at least 2 or 3 more stars on your jersey. I also noticed a difference between Toulouse and Leinster, which is also the same with La Rochelle. When you are in the 22, you always want to score from either touch line or scrum while sometimes you should just take the points. The way Toulouse think is when you re in the 22 you have to bring back points. So if the they didn t score with a try from the initial action they will go for the points. In their perspective there will always be another opportunity to score later on. Leinster would have taken the points instead of trying for the first 20 min to score they would have had at least 6- 9 more points when they ended up with only 3.

[@neilmontgomery3470]

@@PierreLeger1 Yes I think those are fair points. Toulouse game management was the difference.

[@mow3186]

3 finals in a row. Lifting the standard of club rugby. What a club Leinster are.

[@TheRugbySocial]

Undoubtedly Leinster are a excellent club and a role model for others.

[@area_5049]

Yes great team, but perhaps you could say Toulouse, six times winner!

[@TheRugbySocial]

Toulouse 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💪

[@patrickhorgan8389]

On balance, the ref did a good job yesterday.

[@TheRugbySocial]

I think so too. Particularly as the breakdown was some fiercely competitive

[@danielgriffin9431]

Officiating a rugby job probably the toughest out there .. some go for you others don’t .. on balance I think he did a great job ( from a Leinster fan )..

[@patrickclaux2684]

@@danielgriffin9431 je pense également qu'il a été intelligent et équilibré . L'art est difficile .

[@kingoftheforest5635]

Leinster played really well and were dominant in my opinion but these 13 turnovers were key. Small margin between two beautiful rugby teams.

[@TheRugbySocial]

Yes completely agree the turnovers are such a momentum killer.

[@anchorpoint5871]

Rugby is the real winner here.

[@TheRugbySocial]

An absolute classic match.

[@patrickclaux2684]

Agree !

[@PierreLeger1]

First thanks for the great video. As French and Toulouse fan, I was convinced Toulouse could make it. Don t know how you are following Top 14 but 2 weeks before the final Toulouse secured its place for the Top 14 semi final. This means they could rest their player, which they did. But more important was the game they played at that moment. It was against Paris which was leading the championship so far. Toulouse spent the game defending and Paris couldn't t score but on the other hand when Toulouse was I the 22 they were scoring every single time. I think that was a very good preparation game for the final and they were testing their defense system. This is why the more the game against Leinster was advancing the more I was convinced Toulouse will make it. Their defense was very strong and you could see they had solutions to score. Those 2 tries, refused for good reasons, were showing they had the capacity to score. I also think Leinster had their chances to kill the game but they did the mistake, in my perspective, to think they will be able to replicated what they did the last games against Toulouse, meaning scoring after more than 15 sequences. They didn t understand that this time Toulouse had everything ligning up perfectly (I mean Top 14 was secured, they had enough time to rest their player and prepare fully for this game). Leinster should not have spent the first 20 min in Toulouse 22 for only 3 points this was their biggest mistake.

[@TheRugbySocial]

Thanks for your comment. I think your summation is very accurate. I did see the result between Toulouse and State Francais, but didn’t get to see the match. Definitely an excellent result. The defence system was amazing in the day, not just the tackling, turnovers and breakdown, but I also though the maul defence was extremely good and stopped One of Leinster best weapons. Do you think Toulouse will retain the Top 14 title too, this season.

[@PierreLeger1]

@TheRugbySocial for what I saw the past weeks, I really think they have the potential to retain their title. They will have time to regenerate from the final ( execpt Dupont who is going to Madrid this weekend for 7) . They will focus on the semi-final, then hopefully, the final. So yes, I think they will get the Top 14 too.

[@TheRugbySocial]

@@PierreLeger1 Good luck for the rest of the season - I think Toulouse have the momentum to retain the Top 14 too.

[@vicmackey423]

That was high level rugby. And an epic fight.

[@TheRugbySocial]

Absolutely - it was a first class match

[@tinythroe3840]

@@TheRugbySocial Yeah... the last time i saw a match with this intensity it was France Ireland during last year's 6 Nations... Which is not entirely surprising since a big chunk of the French team comes from Toulouse and likewise with the Irish team and Leinster.

[@TheRugbySocial]

@@tinythroe3840 - Absouletly and before that maybe France v South Africa 2022

[@reynaldparisel3852]

Toulouse : 6 stars ! 🤩

[@TheRugbySocial]

💪💪💪💪💪💪

[@tonygiff1859]

As a leinster fan, The best team won in a brilliant advertisement for Rugby, Both Leinster and Ireland would rather kick to the 22 line-out rather then take Penalities.Just in our nature to go for a driving maul.

[@TheRugbySocial]

Fair play. On the day Toulouse we’re excellent at disrupting the maul.

[@jean-pascalesparceil9008]

Huge respect for this team that demonstrated the Irish fighting spirit. Tactics work for a given time, until adversaries dissect and analyse them, work out counters, sometimes recruit players with specific abilities and then ultimately succesfully opose them. I think Leinster attack, in this match, was less efficient because of the pressure put by Toulouse on the halves, and Leinster successfully restricted Dupont attack runs.

[@pierrolao1]

A big up to Blair Kinghorn too...He did a wonderful performance!

[@TheRugbySocial]

To be honest I was surprised he was selected ahead of Ramos, but it turned out to be a great decision.

[@aidanmasterson50]

So much better than Ramos. An inspired selection.

[@patrickclaux2684]

Toulouse a gagné j'en suis très heureux mais il faut avouer que cela a été très difficile . La qualité du Leinster n 'est plus a démontrer, je suis sur qu'ils reviendront ! Bravo aux deux équipes et au fair play de la plupart des commentateurs !

[@TheRugbySocial]

I’m sure Leinster will be back too. I’m glad you enjoyed the match 👍

[@DaveJoubert-f3d]

Absolutely the best game for a long time.

[@kobusdutoitbosman6240]

Fair reflection, thank you Leinster failed to convert to points after a massive effort of which they can be massively proud On the balance of it Toulouse was more accurate and got key moments to count I think the two drop kicks failure said it all for Leinster on the day That they played more rugby, that is so BUT, then you MUST keep the scoreboard ticking step by steady step, otherwise you fail And then there is the Man Antoine du Pont In the world of RF, he is fast becoming the greatest of ALL time most certainly How he does it only pure genius knows and can He is most certainly the most dangerous player on the Park as he both grabs AND creates opportunities ALL the time and for everybody in his Team Thing is, Rugby Football is a Team sport where accuracy and relentless pressure is CRITICAL AND THUS, on the day Leinster should’ve created their own luck by being more so and better That this Game had the drama and intensity of a Test International belittles the magnitude of the occasion It was way beyond that on the day, as was the crowd most certainly Willis was a key man in Red we thought Pieter-Steph in Green and Gold is excellent, but on the day, THIS MAN had NOBODY TO TOUCH HIM IN THE WORLD ON TACKLES ‘INSANITY’ is all one can say And YES, the comment was / is spot on, ALL the players were ‘cooked’ in extra time They had given their ALL and Toulouse had that ‘extra bit’ which they produced on the day ~ MASSIVE Think Leinster is going to take a LONG TIME to recover from this one And Toulouse is going to party into next year on the strength of this excellent, historic performance The James Lowe incident was a key moment, as were there others Accuracy and decisionmaking instinctively in split seconds is where brilliance comes in and under Du Pont, the Reds had the advantage, psychologically EVEN THOUGH Leinster played more Rugby A harsh reality on a magnificent day in the history of this sport Probably the BEST Club Game EVER PLAYED WELL DONE The entertainment levels were absolutely spectacular non stop…SUPERGREAT‼️ The crowd could go home happy with a magnificent clash of the highest order in enjoyment… TOUCHÉ TO BOTH TEAMS 👊🔥🥂‼️‼️ 💯 BRILLIANT EXCELLENT: SUPERBLY DONE🥂💫 🪖

[@TheRugbySocial]

Great comment - both teams fully contributed to an brilliant game. I also agree the scoreboard has to keep ticking in a final, all points are hugely valuable and that scoreboard pressure has a massive physiological impact on the opposition.

[@olivierolive8447]

Hi all. I watched so many YT reviews talking about IF Leinster has done this or IF Leinster has done that or if the drop goal was in and so....The fact can be also that Toulouse has just countered Leinster plans. We agree that with "IFS", we can remake the world. Do not get me wrong, Leinster could have won the game however Toulouse is very clinical and make the most of every mistake of the opponent. Do not forget that playing in the Top 14 means playing an European championship match every weekend. To conclude, I'd just like to highlight Stade Toulousain's performance and not just blame Leinster's performance. I follow Stade Toulousain regularly, and I have to admit that this year's team is virtually unplayable.

[@lizzyhanahoe4197]

I really don’t like reading about “ifs, could haves, and should haves” but just want to point out I read this after most games regardless of who is playing. It was an extremely close and exciting game, Toulouse won, and that is the bottom line. Congratulations Toulouse!

[@AnicetChvt]

Fron Toulouse: I don't understand why Leinster didn't kick their penalties in order to take the lead. Tactic? Big head (score a try)? They lost because of this mistake imo

[@TheRugbySocial]

I think Leinster believed their line out maul would get rewards. But the Toulouse defence was phenomenal

[@daniedutoit6128]

Leinster should have taken the penalty kickable points but what a match A du p was the difference

[@TheRugbySocial]

Scoreboard pressure is so important. DuPont is unbelievable 🔥🔥🔥

[@aidanmasterson50]

DuPont, Kinghorn, Van de Flier and Porter were impervious. Would have added Willis but he was very lucky to be on the park after a brain dead upright no arm tackle on Dorris that could have lost his team the game had there been another ref in charge.

[@TheRugbySocial]

Have to say I missed that tackle On Doris

[@_alienblood]

I taught Leinster gave up 5 or six very kickable 3 pointers Touluse did not heistate to take there penalties the scoreboard what matters in the end.

[@TheRugbySocial]

I’m the knock out Rugby you have to take the points. I though Kinghorn played and kicked very well 👌

[@Natedawg38]

Shouldve taken the kicks leinster...

[@TheRugbySocial]

agreed

[@patrickkeane2067]

Frawley . And how can you not know who scored Leinsters only try..

[@TheRugbySocial]

VDF was great when he came off the bench and deserved the try 👍

[@patrickkeane2067]

@TheRugbySocial well. Wouldn't go that far. Easily could and should of been held up. Brilliant game tho and same.

[@TheRugbySocial]

@@patrickkeane2067 Definitely a brilliant game 👍

[@patrickkeane2067]

@TheRugbySocial ya was class. Fitting final. As Munster fan delighted, they lost, tho. And as a 🏉 fan . It's a joy seen Dupont playing. Absolute freck

[@TheRugbySocial]

Agreed - DuPont is out of this world. Are you feeing positive about Munster retaining the URC title this season?