French media acclaim Toulouse's sixth star 'after a suffocating tug-of-war'

The French media’s Champions Cup final analysis followed the defensive line – heaping global praise on Antoine Dupont and Jack Willis in particular.

Toulouse talisman Antoine Dupont with the trophy and family following the Investec Champions Cup final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Toulouse love finals. They have won nine – six in the Top 14 and three in the Champions Cup – since they last came off second best in a showpiece decider in 2008.

So, there may have been a certain inevitability about this one – even though it was a win so atypical of Toulouse that there may be a hint of a suspicion that it was, in part, planned. A certain highest-risk, highest-reward rope-a-dope quality to it.