Gloucester's royal put in something close to a regal performance in the south of France on Sunday, just falling short of helping his team to one of the upsets of the opening Heineken Cup weekend.
Eight minutes from time it even looked as though the try Mike Tindall fashioned for Henry Trinder might have dealt Toulouse their first home defeat in Europe for two years and gone some way to redressing the balance of a week in which the now former England centre was booted out of the national training squad and fined £25,000.
Still he did enough to forget his off-field troubles for 80 minutes and even went close to winning the man of the match award which would have meant an embarrassing five minutes in front of the Sky cameras. As it was Bryan Redpath, Tindall's head coach at Gloucester, did the honours for him, saying there was never any doubt that Tindall would not play. "I never even asked him," said Redpath. "This week we've just thought about the rugby. The other things are external and he blocked them out. He's still as keen as mustard to play for Gloucester … he's desperate to play rugby."
That showed from the off. There was a pass that Nathan Hines let slip through his massive hands, but within the first seven minutes Tindall had pulled down Yves Donguy when it looked as though the flying Toulouse left‑wing was about to go over in the Gloucester corner.
Tindall then relieved the pressure with a huge boot that took play 60 yards down field and resulted in the first points of the game. Gloucester were still reaping the territorial benefits of that kick when Toulouse strayed offside allowing Freddie Burns to land his second attempt at a penalty.
It would be wrong to say everything Tindall touched turned to gold, but a couple of interventions won useful ball – if only by forcing a Toulouse error or two – and everything seemed to be going reasonably for Gloucester even before their first try, Tindall playing his part as usual.
The England centre may not have the best hands in the business, but he was quick enough to pass out of the tackle, allowing Trinder the space to find Jonny May and the stand-in full-back – Olly Morgan pulled out with a shoulder injury just before kick-off – paved the way for a simple run in for Charlie Sharples.
That is not to say Toulouse had not been dropped heavy hints about the dangers of Gloucester over-relaxing and Donguy had another chance before the new boy Luke McAlister fashioned the chip that put the other wing, Timoci Matanavou, over in the corner.
McAlister, who moved here when the All Blacks rejected him for the World Cup, had threatened before, but two minutes from half‑time he got the angle and weight of kick perfect to thread the ball through the Gloucester defence and into Manatavou's path. The New Zealander, once of Sale, missed the conversion, but his earlier penalty helped put Toulouse within two points at the interval.
After that there were moments when the Gloucester wheels threatened to fall off. Toulouse came out for the second half breathing fire and for 11 minutes turned the screw in a way that suggested Redpath's team would do well to escape intact. They did not. Tom Voyce came close to a deliberate knock-on and then, after endless phases, Alasdair Strokosch taxed the referee Peter FitzGibbon too far by slapping the ball out of the scrum-half Luke Burgess's hands.
The Scotland flanker went to the sin-bin and Toulouse went ahead before the Tindall intervention that might have stolen the game. First Sharples cleared up the mess of a ball bouncing aimlessly in midfield, before Tindall claimed his pass, shrugged off a couple of tackles and then found Trinder charging up on his left shoulder.
The conversion from Burns put Gloucester three points ahead with eight minutes to go, but then came a moment of magic as Toulouse pinballed their way down the left, making a nonsense of the Gloucester cover before Clément Poitrenaud crossed the line and got close enough to the posts for Lionel Beauxis to make the conversion look easy.
There was a suggestion of a forward pass at the start of the move, but then Pointrenaud, Yann David and Matanavou flipped passes between them to open holes where none had previously existed. Toulouse, four times winners of the main European prize, do that to teams.
As for Tindall, he has until Wednesday to lodge his appeal with the acting chief executive as Twickenham, Martyn Thomas. However, Redpath's words suggested, no matter what the outcome, that Gloucester would like to keep the 33-year-old even though his contract runs out at the end of this season. "I was delighted for him. He was playing in a position he hasn't been in for some time and with a player he's unused to playing alongside."
Toulouse Poitrenaud; Matanavou, David, Fritz (Jauzion, 60), Donguy; McAlister (Beauxis, 60), Burgess; Poux (Montes, 64), Botha (Servat, 52), Johnston (Falefa, 64), Maestri, Millo-Chluski, Nyanga, Nicolas Sowerby, (Galan, 52) Nicolas.
Tries Mantavavou, Poitrenaud. Cons Beauxis. Pens McAllister 2, Beauxis.
Gloucester May; Sharples, Trinder, Tindall, Voyce; Burns, R Lawson (Lewis, 70); Wood, Dawiduk (S Lawson, 55), Harden (Chistolini, 74), James, Hamilton, Buxton (capt), Strokosch, Qera (Narraway, 61).
Tries Sharples, Trinder Cons Burns 2 Pens Burns.
Sin-bin Strokosch 51.
Referee P FitzGibbon (Ireland). Attendance 18,700.
