Luke McAlister hopes to find spark amid Toulouse clouds

There isn’t a club in Europe that can match Toulouse for tradition and history but the French giants travel to Limerick this week weighed down by the woes of the current generation rather than the haul of silverware that once made them the most feared side on the continent.

Nineteen times French champions and four times the best side in Europe, Stade Toulousain haven’t claimed a major title since 2012 and they face Munster in Saturday’s Champions Cup quarter-final on the back of just one win from six in the Top 14.

With ever more money flowing into the French game, Toulouse are now just another one of the big spenders. The defeat at home to La Rochelle last month was the perfect example of how these traditional giants are being usurped by those who were for so long beneath them.