Toulouse faces Leinster in the Champions Cup final for a display rich in statistics. The two clubs have never faced each other at this stage of the competition while the Rouge et Noir have not won a final against a foreign club since 1996.
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9 titles accumulated between Leinster and Toulouse
The two giants of European rugby will face each other in the final. With nine titles combined, Leinster and Toulouse are the two most star-studded clubs in the Old Continent. The Irish have won four times, in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2018. The Toulouse are the only team with five trophies (1996, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2021). The next meeting between the Irish and Haut-Garonnais will therefore see Leinster return to the level of Toulouse, or the Rouge et Noir escape with a sixth star.
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Leinster remains on 3 defeats in a row in the final
Scary for several seasons on a European scale, Leinster has the unfortunate tendency to stall in the final. Since their last coronation in 2018, against Racing 92, the Irish have reached the final three times… for three defeats. In 2019, Saracens got the better of the Leinstermen before La Rochelle became the bête noire of the men in blue, during the 2022 and 2023 editions. A figure all the more striking since before these failures, Leinster did not had never lost a European final.
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1996: Toulouse’s last victory against a foreign club
To this day, it remains the first and last victory for Stade Toulouse against a foreign club, in the European Cup final. On January 7, 1996, the Rouge et Noir won 21-18 (after extra time) against Cardiff. For the first edition of the European Cup, Guy Novès led a team notably composed of Émile Ntamack, Christian Califano and the current manager of Toulouse, Ugo Mola. Since then, Toulouse has never managed to defeat a foreign team in the final, failing against Wasps (2004) and against Munster (2008).
Fabien Pelous, winner of the European Cup in 2005, spoke about his memories of this victory against Stade Français. The second line notably returned to the pre-match, and a famous werewolf game.
His full remarks > https://t.co/E6YfHFO3eI pic.twitter.com/0dsp98xkGp
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) https://twitter.com/RugbyramaFR/status/1793524940429533215?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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First final between Leinster and Toulouse
Great regulars in finals – they will play their eighth meeting at this stage of the competition – Toulouse and Leinster have never faced each other so high. The two clubs also remain in three semi-finals contested in 2019, 2022 and 2023. The Irish have won on each of these occasions, at home. Will the situation be different on neutral ground?
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311 points and 46 tries: Toulouse best attack in the competition
This final promises to be spectacular between two teams naturally inclined towards attack, with two opposing styles of play. Faced with the extremely structured Leinster system, Toulouse excelled with its all-out game. Since the first day of the 2024 edition, the Rouge et Noir scored 311 points and registered 46 tries. Nobody does better in Europe, Leinster are notably the fifth best attack in the Champions Cup, with 16 tries and 92 points less than their future opponents.
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15 points on average per match: Leinster best defense
Faced with the offensive strike force of Stade Toulouse, Leinster shined with its defense throughout the competition. With an average of 15 points conceded per game, no team defended better than the Irish. With seven matches played, Leo Cullen’s men have, in fact, conceded more points than Glasgow (91) and Toulon (99), who have only played five and four matches. Toulouse conceded 18.29 points on average and will have to contain Leinster to hope to bring home the trophy at Place du Capitole…
