Across the generations, both Leinster and Toulouse have moulded themselves into European rugby’s aristocrats. Both organisations have created an internal mindset that understands what it takes to win in Europe.
Each May, when the Champions Cup comes down to the wire, the two great clubs are always close to getting their hands on the silverware.
That is because, at its core, winning in Europe requires the ability to mentally shift up several gears from the standards set in the domestic leagues, to perform at a higher intensity of competition. Just watch Northampton’s error-ridden opening hour at Croke Park for evidence of the truth of that statement.
Teams like Toulouse and Leinster have the mental strength to maintain a powerful self-belief, trusting in the deeply held conviction that your team is good enough to overcome whatever the opposition and the rugby gods can throw at you.
Astonishingly, over the last seven years, Leinster have made the Champions Cup final five times. For all of that incredible effort, they are still chasing the right to wear a fifth star on their chest, while their arch-enemy, Toulouse, already hold the handful.
Despite these clubs being historically the two most feared in the competition, in two weeks’ time Les Toulousains will walk into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as slight favourites.
This is because, like La Rochelle in the past two years, Toulouse have hit peak form at the business end of the season. Crucially, the way this Toulouse team performs, in both attack and defence, will disrupt Leinster’s style of play.
In their semi-final win over Harlequins, we can see that the Toulouse head coach, Ugo Mola, has taken a leaf out of La Rochelle’s winning playbook from the past two finals. They will come at Leinster’s scrum and breakdown with ferocity.
Using their own giant Australian-born lock Emmanuel Meafou to create physical havoc like Will Skelton did in the past, added to the skills of François Cros, Thibaud Flament and Péato Mauvaka. That’s before you mention the luxury of selecting Julien Marchand on the bench, who is one of the most effective players in the world at the breakdown.
Toulouse are masters at stealing the ball, winning penalties and slowing their opponents’ attacking ball down to a snail’s pace. All defensive qualities that will disrupt Leinster’s desire for a flowing attack.
Behind this awesome pack awaits Antoine Dupont. Need I say more?
While Dupont remains the world’s premier player by a considerable margin, it is the recent return of Romain Ntamack from knee surgery that has the Toulouse attack returning to equilibrium. Ntamack’s selection has allowed Thomas Ramos to return to wearing the No 15 jersey and give up his role as their stand-in outhalf. While Blair Kinghorn has been excellent at fullback in recent months, the spine of Dupont, Ntamack and Ramos is irresistible.
What has also added to the rebalancing of the Toulouse attack is the emergence of the 21-year-old Paul Costes as a quality outside centre. In recent years Toulouse have lacked the presence of a top-line outside centre. The No 13 role is a specialist position that requires split-second decision-making of the highest order. While Leinster have been gifted with the presence of generational world-class outside centres in Brian O’Driscoll followed by Garry Ringrose, Costes is showing signs that he is on the path to becoming the long-term solution to what was a big weakness for Toulouse.
Earlier this week, I received a message from a former coaching colleague whose rugby intellect I deeply respect. He correctly pointed out to me that part of Jacques Nienaber’s defensive philosophy aims to rob opposition teams of their attacking structure. For much of the first hour at Croke Park Leinster effectively disrupted Northampton’s highly-structured attack and forced them to play much of the game in an unstructured chaos.
He correctly pointed out that this may be a big tactical problem for Leinster because Toulouse are the kings of unstructured attack.
The coaching genius of Pierre Villepreux, alongside Jean-Claude Skrela, who were the coaches of Toulouse in the 1980s, created the attacking philosophy that teaches “flexibility and adaptability, not organisation”. That philosophy of creating space in unstructured play was expanded for two decades by their next great coach, Guy Novès.
Mola, who has coached “les Rouge et Noir” since 2015, is a disciple of these three men.
This coaching concept teaches players how to be comfortable in the uncomfortable environment of unstructured attack. This creates players who are so acutely aware of space that they learn how to find the slightest of gaps between defenders.
This is an integral part of what makes Dupont such an incredible performer.
In a rugby version of “be careful what you wish for”, if the aim of Leinster’s rushing defensive system is to deliver attacking chaos for Toulouse, then Dupont and his henchmen have the genius to improvise using offloading and a scintillating short-kicking game that creates tries from seemingly impossible positions.
None of this means that Leinster can’t win. They possess exceptional players who, season after long season, have displayed a bravery of spirit and excellence beyond praise.
The fact that this Leinster team have found the self-belief to rise above the greatest of sporting heartbreaks to once again reach the final of the Champions Cup, tells us that this group of players are on a mission that is so deeply held that it borders on the sacred. A mission so powerful that it has generated a collective energy that only those who have experienced what a truly united team can achieve can comprehend.
This is a power not to be lightly dismissed. All of which is a great credit to their coach, Leo Cullen.
While being underdogs in London will be nothing new for an Irish team, it may also be an uplifting relief for Leinster who have one final mission in this season’s Champions Cup.
