European Cup final at Murrayfield: In the end, class, ambition and mental strength told. It wasn't the classiest or the most ambitious performance ever seen, but in a tryless Heineken European Cup final in Edinburgh what little of it there was nearly all belonged to Toulouse. So the best club side in Europe, perhaps the world, became the first club to ever win the trophy three times.
For Stade Français, this constituted a second final defeat to go with their epic 34-30 loss to Leicester in Paris four years ago. For them, and their big-spending benefactor Max Gauzzini, this, too, has become an unfulfilled magnificent obsession. But they have only themselves to blame - this was their second final without scoring a try and what's more they seemed hardly to have the inclination.
Relying on a low-risk, percentage game by keeping it tight or kicking for territory through the boots of David Skrela, using the one-dimensional Brian Liebenberg to pressurise the creaky Toulouse lineout and, admittedly, putting in a huge defensive effort, they left it to Toulouse to make the running and sought to profit from mistakes.
There weren't enough of them, and Toulouse were deservedly rewarded for their efforts to make something happen with more of a ball-in-hand game and greater willingness to play it wide, offload or counterattack.
What line breaks and threats there were came almost exclusively from Toulouse players - such as Finau Maka and his brother, impact replacement Isitolo - while the outstanding Yannick Jauzion and Florian Fritz made vital yards in midfield. All the while Frederic Michalak, probably with the help of painkillers, put aside some poor tactical kicking by constantly probing with his customary wit and imagination for 80 minutes from outhalf and another 20 at scrumhalf.
Granted, Stade had one hand on the trophy when they led 12-9 and Skrela lined up a drop goal. In perhaps the high point of a typically unstinting 100-minute effort, and perhaps even his richly rewarding three years at Europe's premier club, Trevor Brennan led the charge to make the charge-down.
An important figure in the Toulouse lineout, getting his hands on the ball more than in the semi-final, no less than anyone else, he'd have come off battered and bruised but probably rarely with a greater sense of satisfaction, and rightly so. Leinster letting him go is long since old hat, but the case for omitting him even from a tour to Japan missing 11 Lions defies belief as the 31-year-old looks to have a couple of good years left in him yet.
Stade were still within two minutes of winning the cup when Finau Maka led the last assault with another charge up the middle, which led to Jean-Baptiste Elissalde landing his fourth penalty after Stade killed ruck ball.
As often happens, the team that equalises late took the momentum into extra time, and from another trademark buffalo-on-stampede burst by Isitolo Maka, Toulouse probed wide on the left through Clement Poitrenaud and on the right through Gareth Thomas, Michalak taking over the kicking duties to push Toulouse in front for the first time after 82 minutes when an overstretched Stade drifted offside in the middle.
Although Skrela pushed one angled penalty wide, Stade had little to offer thereafter. Toulouse kept control of the ball for much of the additional 20 minutes, and in the second period of extra time Fritz made the hard yards up the middle for Michalak to revert to outhalf and nevervelessly land the cup-sealing drop goal.
To the ERC's credit, the 51,000-plus who bought tickets in advance duly turned up, and coupled with what seemed more than the anticipated travelling support of 6,000 French, the organisers' free flags ensured a riot of colour to add to the flavour.
There was a fair smattering of Munster fans around Edinburgh over the weekend, and even the odd Leinster jersey. And yet things were so quiet for so long that it seemed more a thinking man's game, off the pitch at any rate.
In the first half, especially, both teams seemed gripped by fear, or at least too fearful of trying anything risky that might result in a mistake. Although not exerting the anticipated pressure through their lineout maul, Stade had the better of the set-pieces and, leading by four Skrela penalties to two by Elissalde at the break, seemed set to win unless one of Toulouse's gamebreakers in the backs produced a moment of magic.
They were close enough a few times, not least when Vincent Clerc adroitly held a richochet off a blocked Michalak grubber and scampered up the touchline only to slice his chip over the advancing Juan Hernandez.
Ultimately, after they had trailed for 67 minutes, their phenomenal mental strength in what must have been an often acutely frustrating day, saw them through.
Toulouse toughed it out.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 12 mins: Skrela pen 3-0; 15: Skrela pen 6-0; 26: Elissalde pen 6-3; 28: Skrela pen 9-3; 34: Elissalde pen 9-6; 40: Skrela pen 12-6 (half-time 12-6); 50: Elissalde pen 12-9; 79: Elissalde pen 12-12 (full-time 12-12); 82: Michalak pen 12-15; 92: Michalak drop goal 12-18.
STADE FRANCAIS: J Fernandez; C Dominci, S Glas, B Liebenberg, J Arias; D Skrela, A Pichot; R Roncero, M Blin, P de Villiers, D Auradou (capt), M James, Mauro Bergarmasco, R Martin, S Sowerby. Replacements: S Marconnet for de Villiers (50 mins), O Brouzet for James and B Kayser for Blin (both 55 mins), P Rabadan for Martin and de Villiers for Roncero (both 65 mins), J Fillol for Pichot (74 mins), R King for Liebenberg (84 mins).
STADE TOULOUSAIN: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, Y Jauzion, F Fritz, G Thomas; F Michalak, J-B Elissalde; J-B Poux, W Servat, O Hassan, F Pelous (capt), R Millo-Chlusky, T Brennan, F Maka, C Labit. Replacements: J Bouilhou for Pelous (44 mins), D Human for Poux (52 mins), Y Bru for Servat, I Maka for Labit, C Heymans for Clerc (all 65 mins), J-F Dubois for Elissalde (79 mins).
Referee: Chris White (England).
