Afternoon everyone, what a treat this should be. Amazing really that after all their respective victories in this competition, Leinster and Toulouse have never faced each other in a Champions Cup final. That ends today at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where incredibly there will be a trophy presentation (sorry, Spurs fans) with Leinster bidding to win title number five, and Toulouse going for a historic sixth place to put them further ahead on the chasing platoon. This really feels like an absolute blockbuster with some of the very best players in the Northern Hemisphere.
From a Leinster perspective, we are so used to them being a dominant force that given their high standards, this run without a European title dating back to 2018 feels unusual. Johnny Sexton's retirement was not the hammer blow many expected, signaling a high quality system and structure that has only been enhanced by the arrival of Jacques Nienaber. has served South Africa so well before. Joe McCarthy's breakthrough season has been a treat, but everything good about Leinster at the moment seems to stem from the form of Jamison Gibson-Park.
As for Toulouse, it's hard to think of a deadlier attack this side of the equator. As Exeter and Harlequins will testify, you can only contain Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack for so long with all their many weapons. You know all of Dupont's wizardry by now, but really it's Ntamack's return from injury, after missing the Rugby World Cup so cruelly, that feels so important. They just shred teams to pieces.
So there's a lot to look forward to ahead of what should be one of the grand finals. Stay with us for the entire build-up.