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European Professional Club Rugby

Top Five French Heineken Champions Cup Moments As Semi-Finals Near

Top Five French Heineken Champions Cup Moments As Semi-Finals Near

Here are the top five French moments in the Heineken Champions Cup, including Toulouse's five titles, a sublime try from Brive and Toulon's Triple.

Apr 28, 2023
Top Five French Heineken Champions Cup Moments As Semi-Finals Near

The Heineken Champions Cup, formerly known as the Heineken Cup, has long been one of the great advertisements for European rugby.

Since its launch back in 1995, the competition has garnered top-class talent from across the world and treated fans to some truly memorable on-field moments.

Teams hailing from Ireland, England and France have all had their fair share of success in the competition, but no team has equalled the achievements of Toulouse.

The eponymous French side has won five European titles in total and has a hoard of special memories to recall.

But there are three other French teams that have taken home the trophy, giving French fans plenty to cheer over the years.

Here are the top five French rugby moments in the Heineken Cup:

Ntamack lifts inaugural Heineken Cup

In the inaugural Heineken Cup final of 1996, Toulouse faced off against Cardiff at the Arms Park and were taken right to the wire.

Tries from Thomas Castaignede and Jerome Cazalbou gave the French side a healthy lead within the opening 10 minutes, but then Cardiff’s Adrian Davies kicked the Welsh Province back into the tie to make it 15-15, forcing extra time.

With home advantage on their side, Cardiff looked better placed to steal the win, but in the end, two penalties from fly-half Christophe Deylaud was enough to seal a 21-18 victory, as Toulouse became the first to etch their name on the trophy.

The image of their captain Emile Ntamack raising the cup aloft became a lasting image from that day and harked the emergence of a new European superpower.

His son Romain Ntamack would follow in his footsteps and win a European title of his own with Toulouse in 2021.


Viars scores classic solo try 

When Brive picked apart Leicester Tigers in the 1997 instalment of the Heineken Cup final, it was full-back Sebastien Viars who stole the show, scoring one of the great tries of the competition within five minutes of play.

The move began with a bulldozing run from number eight Gregory Kacala. The ball was shipped quickly from the ruck to captain and fly-half Alain Penaud, who flung a direct pass to the onrushing Viars.

With a wide gap to run into, the fullback steers towards the left touchline, selling a dummy before handing off not one but two Leicester defenders as he sprinted onwards and crashed over the line to put Brive ahead.   

Austin Healey and John Liley were forced to look back at the man they had just missed. Viars duly celebrated, and Brive went on to win 28-9, making it two from two for French teams in the European finals.

Skrela show gives Toulouse famous win    

Sometimes finals are not determined by tries but rather by kicks, and this is exactly what happened in 2010 when Toulouse muscled past Biarritz 21-19 to take home the European title for a record fourth time.

David Skrela was the architect of the win, kicking three penalties and two drop goals to edge Toulouse towards victory.

The roar from the Stade de France crowd when he slotted his third penalty, all but sealing the tie, was memorable in itself and was only trumped by the jovial celebrations at full-time as Toulouse became the first team to win their fourth Heineken Cups.

It was also the third time Toulouse had prevailed in an all-French final, following wins in 2003 and 2005 to Perpignan and Stade Francais.


Mitchell sets Twickenham alight to make history for Toulon

The Toulon team of 2012-2015 was potentially one of the greatest club sides ever assembled. The star power pulled together by Mourad Boudjellal was truly sensational and sparked a new level of achievement in club rugby.

No clearer was this seen than in the Heineken Cup, where Toulon became the first team to claim three straight titles.

To achieve this, they had to defeat a familiar foe in Clermont, the same side they beat back in 2013 to win their maiden European crown.

With just over ten minutes left on the clock and the tie hanging in the balance – with Toulon fractionally leading 19-18 – veteran Australian international Drew Mitchell rose to the occasion.

The Wallaby cut a fine line through the Clermont defence, stepped two men and sprinted past another three on his way to scoring a try for the ages, propelling Toulon to victory and a record-breaking European treble.


Retière reaches out to make history for La Rochelle 

La Rochelle’s story is quite remarkable. Less than ten years ago, they were playing in the Pro D2. Fast forward to 2022, and they were lifting the Heineken Champions Cup at the Stade Vélodrome.

For 79 minutes, it looked as though it would not be their day. Leinster had led for most of the game, were four-time winners and possessed the know-how on turning a final in their favour.

But then the yellow and black wall of La Rochelle began to rumble as the side slowly edged closer to the try line. Forwards pounded relentlessly, phase after phase, and were eventually rewarded for their efforts when replacement scrum-half Arthur Retière, a man of decidedly small stature, darted towards a gap and stretched out to place the ball on the line.

At that moment, La Rochelle transformed from the nearly men, who had lost to Toulouse in the final in the previous year to the best team in Europe.