Antoine Dupont double fires Toulouse to Champions Cup title showdown with Leinster
Toulouse, France. 09th Dec, 2023. © PHOTOPQR/LA DEPECHE DU MIDI/LAURENT DARD ; TOULOUSE ; 09/12/2023 ; DDM LAURENT DARD RUGBY CHAMPIONS CUP AU STADE ERNEST WALLON STADE TOULOUSAIN EN ROUGE CONTRE CARDIFF EN BLEU ANTOINE DUPONT rugby union match between St
Toulouse will take on Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup final after they survived a major scare against Harlequins to run out 38-26 winners at Le Stadium on Sunday.
Antoine Dupont scored a brace while Matthis Lebel, Peato Mauvaka, Thibaud Flament and Juan Cruz Mallia also crossed to book a ticket to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Marcus Smith, Will Evans, Cadan Murley and Tyrone Green would go over for Harlequins who bow out of the competition after launching a spirited fightback in the second half.
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Harlequins gave it everything, trailing by only five points with more than an hour gone, yet Toulouse had just enough in the tank.
Toulouse blasted out of the blocks and were ahead after just four minutes following a lineout steal deep inside Quins’ 22.
It was a poor error by the visitors, and Toulouse punished them ruthlessly as Romain Ntamack’s long, floated pass allowed Lebel an unopposed run to the line.
Ntamack and his revered half-back partner Dupont freely delved into their box of tricks, and it took Quins 12 minutes to emerge from their own half, such had been Toulouse’s dominance, but they responded brilliantly.
Toulouse were shunted onto the back foot as Quins attacked, and after number eight Alex Dombrandt went close, Smith weaved his way through three defenders for a try that he also converted.
Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals and kick-off times confirmed
Quins were then undone by Toulouse’s power game, though, as a precision lineout drive was finished by Mauvaka, and Blair Kinghorn converted for a 12-7 lead after the opening quarter.
There was no let-up in the entertainment and quality, with Quins drawing level when Evans touched down following a lineout surge that matched Toulouse’s effort, then Flament put his team back in front.
Toulouse’s third try was a direct produce of scrum-half Danny Care’s pass bouncing off flanker Chandler Cunningham-South, and Flament could scarcely believe his good fortune as Quins found themselves behind again.
But there was nothing fortunate about try number four as Toulouse attacked from deep through centre Paul Costes’ majestic break, and his well-judged kick into space was gathered by a chasing Dupont.
The game was rapidly moving away from Quins, and Dupont struck again four minutes later, this time the beneficiary of outstanding work by Mauvaka, and two more Kinghorn conversions gave Toulouse an imposing 19-point interval advantage.
Quins needed a lifeline early in the second period, and it arrived after 46 minutes when Smith’s long pass found Murley, and his acrobatic finish – Smith converted from the touchline – created a glimmer of hope.
And it got even better seven minutes later as another brilliant score was carved out by Murley before Care’s pass sent Green over, with Smith’s conversion leaving Quins within striking distance.
But Toulouse then reasserted themselves, helped by Jack Walker’s yellow card, and he had barely left the pitch before Mallia struck, with Thomas Ramos’ conversion putting Quins under huge pressure.
And there was no way back for the visitors, as English interest in this season’s tournament was ended after a memorable 10-try spectacle.
The teams
Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Juan Cruz Mallia, 13 Paul Costes, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Emmanuel Meafou, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Mathis Castro Ferreira, 21 Paul Graou, 22 Santiago Chocobares, 23 Thomas Ramos
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Stephan Lewies (c), 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 George Hammond, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)