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Maxime Médard runs in to score the match-winning try for Toulouse in Round 2
Toulouse can secure a spot in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup knockout stages with a victory over defending champions Leinster Rugby on Saturday in what should be a Pool 1 European classic at The RDS. Kick-off is at 13;00 GMT, with live free-to-air coverage on Channel 4 and Virgin Media, as well as BT Sport, beIN SPORTS and FR2.
- The winner has alternated in the last nine meetings between Leinster and Toulouse, with the TOP 14 side winning five of those encounters to Leinster’s four.
- Toulouse are one of just three clubs to have won all four games so far this season, along with Saracens and Racing 92.
- Toulouse are on a run of four consecutive victories, and the last time they enjoyed a longer winning run was between December 2009 and January 2011 (W11), during which they lifted the European Cup for the fourth time in 2010.
Ce weekend c'est de nouveau la bataille entre les deux équipes à quatre étoiles ! 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Qui se souvient de cet essai de @MaxMedard lors de la victoire du @StadeToulousain contre le @leinsterrugby au mois d'octobre ? 😍#ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ueBsncVJCa
— Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) January 8, 2019
- Leinster have won 22 of their last 24 games when hosting TOP 14 clubs (L2), picking up losing bonus points in both of their defeats in that sequence.
- Toulouse have lost each of their last four games away to Irish opposition, with three of those defeats coming by margins of more than 20 points.
- Leinster have conceded just 47 turnovers this season, fewer than any other side, while Toulouse have won the most (34).
- Toulouse’s Thomas Ramos (51) is the top point scorer after four rounds while teammate Sofiane Guitoune is one of the top try scorers this season (4, level with Jacob Stockdale, Juan Imhoff and Sean Maitland).
Lancaster: "One thing that stuck in my mind was the intensity of the atmosphere and the environment (in Toulouse) and that's one thing that we need at the RDS this weekend." #LEIvTOU #JoinTheRoar pic.twitter.com/F0n8OQWjCJ
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) January 8, 2019
Leinster Rugby after their first try against Toulouse.
Defending champions Leinster Rugby leapfrogged Toulouse in Heineken Champions Cup Pool 1 after a 29-13 victory at The RDS on Saturday afternoon.
The home team started on top, with a Sean Cronin tackle resulting in Leinster attacking the Toulouse line until play was broken up but advantage was being played. Ross Byrne slotted between the posts for the opening score of the afternoon.
Leinster then had the put-in at the scrum inside their own 22 but the Toulouse pack forced the home side to collapse and that gave Thomas Ramos the simple task of levelling the scores.
The first try came soon after as Leinster spread the play wide right and then back inside to Jack Conan who powered past two Toulouse men and over the try line. Byrne’s conversion split the posts to give the home side a seven-point cushion, but Ramos narrowed the gap with a late successful penalty kick.
Dave Kearney extends Leinster's lead against Toulouse with this superb try.
Live on Virgin Media One.#LEIvTOU #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/CQ8ZkrvG02
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) January 12, 2019
Shortly after the interval, Ramos failed to fully clear away and that gave Leinster the chance to continue the attack and punish the French side.
Byrne played a delightful cross-field kick to perfection, allowing Dave Kearney to attack the ball and stay in play while dotting down for the second try.
Pressure continued to pile on Toulouse and they eventually gave way as Leinster went over for the third time through Sean Cronin.
The bonus point was then brought up as replacement Jamison Gibson-Park fired a ball wide to Adam Byrne who scored in the corner with ease.
Adam Byrne gets the bonus point try for Leinster in their dominant performance against Toulouse at the RDS.
Live on Virgin Media One.#LEIvTOU #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/tcq4sgTPHa
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) January 12, 2019
A spectacular Cheslin Kolbe try and conversion rounded off a tremendous clash but it was nothing more than a consolation for Toulouse who were well-beaten in Dublin.
The home side have taken top spot in Pool 1 with one match to play and a win at Wasps would clinch a home quarter-final.
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