Toulouse, as expected, won the Heineken Cup for a record fourth time. But after appearing to coast 10 minutes from the end – when they had taken control of every aspect of the game, especially at forward, and made a round of unforced substitutions – they found themselves hanging on desperately after conceding a late breakaway try.
Three of Toulouse's successes in Europe have now come against French opposition – they won the two previous all-French finals, in 2003 and 2005 – and this was the second time they had prevailed without scoring a try.
They were the odds-on favourites to triumph, having made the semi-finals of the Top 14 play-offs while Biarritz only just made the top half of the table. In addition, the Basque club's playmaker, Damien Traille, was out with a broken arm and their back division looked markedly the less potent.
Toulouse started brimming with expectancy. They ran a free-kick from their own half in the second minute and Thierry Dusautoir broke into the 22 of Biarritz, who managed to scramble back. Yannick Jauzion attempted to drop a goal after the movement had been halted, but Dimitri Yachvili charged down the ball and the character of the game took on an unexpected hue.
Biarritz, who had barely brought their fly-half into play in the semi-final victory over Munster, were not as naked in their ambition as Toulouse, but did not have any inhibitions about revealing what they had out wide. The element of surprise proved telling, but the one area in which Biarritz were expected to have an advantage, the scrum, turned into their biggest weakness.
Such is the impact of the army of analysts teams now employ, both teams played on the perceived strength of the other, a clash of the iconoclasts. Two Yachvili penalties put Biarritz six points up after 15 minutes, while David Skrela – who had conceded the second after blatantly entering a ruck from the side – hit the post from 25 metres.
Toulouse were hardly reeling, but they were rattled enough to make basic mistakes, William Servat overthrowing in successive lineouts and moves too often ended with unforced errors. Florian Fritz scored his side's first points with a 55-metre penalty before, six minutes later, bodychecking Iain Balshaw and presenting Yachvili with thee points.
Were it not for their scrum, Biarritz might have held on until half-time. Skrela's missed penalty had been awarded after the tighthead prop, Campbell Johnstone, popped out of a scrum like a champagne cork, unable to cope with the pressure, and his first successful one came after Eduard Coetzee detached himself from another retreating scrum.
Now it was Biarritz who were making mistakes under pressure. When Magnus Lund was turned over in the Toulouse half, Fritz weaved in and out of tackles and put Maxime Médard into space. The wing was caught close to the Biarritz line by Balshaw before Yachvili made a try‑saving tackle on Clément Poitrenaud, jarring the ball out of the full‑back's grasp.
Toulouse were not to be denied. Just as they did at the end of the first half of their quarter-final against Stade Français, they increased the intensity at a telling moment. Skrela tied the scores with a 45-metre penalty, after Romain Millo-Chluski had been taken out in the air, before Fritz dropped a goal, with the help of a post, a minute before the interval to put his side 12-9 ahead.
Toulouse started the second half as they had the first, finding space around the fringes and moving the ball quickly, but Médard blew their best opportunity for a try up to then when he knocked on with an overlap beckoning.
Then came a flash of French farce. Toulouse lost the ball in a prime attacking position and Biarritz hacked it upfield, where hooker Benoît August found himself in space on the right wing. He hacked the ball on and fancied his chances of winning the race to the line.
The Toulouse second-row Patricio Albacete was not prepared to take the risk that August would get any slower and hauled him down without the ball. It cost his side three more points from Yachvili's boot and the Argentina international a yellow card – but it marked the point at which the game turned in Toulouse's favour.
They scored six points in Albacete's absence through two Skrela drop goals, the first from 25 metres out and the second from 40, as Toulouse started to make their blend of raw physical power and finesse tell. Biarritz were surviving virtually on turnovers and if they thought bringing on Fabien Barcella would resolve their problems up front, they back-pedalled even faster.
Skrela's third penalty, 10 minutes from time, seemed to be decisive. Biarritz thought so because they brought off their talisman, Yachvili. Two minutes later, his replacement, Valentin Courrent, was lining up a conversion after Takudswa Ngwenya's pace took him behind the defence and he timed his pass to Karmichael Hunt.
Toulouse's lead was now only two points and Biarritz found life where none had been shown. They attacked until the end, but Hunt's knock-on left them out of the hunt.
