Toulouse are the most successful team in the history of the Heineken Cup but they are far from the most formidable in front of their own supporters, not least because they do not allow themselves to be stifled by caution, whatever the conditions.
Glasgow, the Scarlets and Leinster have won here in recent years and Bath lost to a last-minute kick in 2008. Wasps today had the opportunity to steal the game at the end but Dave Walder, as he had at Gloucester two weeks before, pulled a long-range penalty wide.
Toulouse should have had more of a cushion but a couple of minutes earlier, after Wasps had been penalised at a scrum for the seventh time in the match, 35 metres from their own posts, Byron Kelleher opted to run. The former All Black scrum-half was hauled down just short of the line but his decision to look to put the match beyond Wasps, rather than put them in a position where they needed to score a try to avoid defeat, meant that Walder had the chance to win the game after the prop Census Johnston, seconds after being named man of the match, used his hands in a ruck.
It was a kick well within Walder's range, to the left of the posts and 45 metres out. Distance was no problem but direction was and the crowd roared its approval as the ball stayed left of the posts.
A losing bonus point was a consolation that Wasps would have taken before the game and, given the way their scrum was under pressure from the start, it was about as much as they deserved. This was another tight European match in which a Premiership club finished on the wrong side.
Heavy rain throughout the afternoon dampened the execution of both sides. Handling was hazardous and one of the few moves in the first half that went through more than a couple of phases ended when the Toulouse full-back, Clément Poitrenaud, knocked on five metres from the line and with two team-mates unmarked outside him.
It was Poitrenaud whose mistake at the end of the 2004 final at Twickenham had allowed Robert Howley to steal in for the try that won the Heineken Cup for Wasps. Another mistake by the full-back, midway through the second half, led to the only try of the afternoon. The Samoan wing David Lemi reached Walder's chip and beat Poitrenaud to the line. The try was awarded after the video referee was asked to rule. It was the one real opportunity Wasps created.
Toulouse were the more threatening side, the incessant rain never stifling their intent, but on a day when the conditions demanded patience the holders kept trying one pass too many and losing possession. Wasps, through Walder and Mark van Gisbergen, were more content to play for possession but their weakness up front, where they missed the England props Tim Payne and Phil Vickery, together with a far from proficient lineout, meant they were unable to sustain any pressure.
They also conceded a rash of penalties. The home fly-half, David Skrela, kicked six out of seven – one bounced on the bar and went over but another hit a post and fell into the arms of the Wasps and Wales No8 Andy Powell who, in a surreal moment, kicked the ball 50 metres downfield and into touch. He was later outdone by his opposite number, Scott Sowerby.
Wasps twice held the lead in the opening quarter, through two Walder penalties. Skrela equalised each time and he put Toulouse in front after 30 minutes, only for Walder to reply just before the interval.
Kelleher kept trying to inject urgency into the home side but only after Skrela had kicked two penalties in quick session either side of the hour, following two Powell indiscretions, did Toulouse feel able to relax.
The feeling passed as Lemi's try put Wasps in the lead and, although Skrela restored Toulouse's advantage with six minutes to go, Johnston's actions gave Walder his chance.
"I was too scared to look at the kick," said Johnston. "I thought I had cost us a game we deserved to win. I was very lucky and today again showed that this is a tournament in which no one can take anything for granted. Maybe we should have been tighter but that is not Toulouse."
Toulouse Poitrenaud; Clerc, Fritz, Jauzion, Heymans (Médard, 60); Skrela, Kelleher; Poux (Human, 64), Servat (Lacombe, 62), Johnston, Lamboley (Maestri, 51), Millo-Chluski, Nyanga (Picamoles, 64), Dusautoir (capt), Sowerby.
Pens Skrela 6.
London Wasps Van Gisbergen; Haughton (Lemi, 57), Jacobs, Waldouck, Varndell; Walder, Simpson (Berry, 69); Taulafo, Ward (Webber, 45), Broster (Hobson, 45; Beech, 80), Shaw, Birkett (Cannon, 57), Worsley (Ward-Smith, 80), Rees (capt), Powell.
Try Lemi Con Walder Pens Walder 2 Drop goal Walder.
Referee G Clancy (Ireland) Attendance 26,928.
