Stade Toulousain crowned Top 14 champions for 25th time after storm delay

Stade Toulousain will remain at the top of the Top14, following another successful final in which they defeated Montpellier 28-20 to earn their 25^th Bouclier de Brennus.

The defending champions put Montpellier under intense pressure in the opening 10 minutes, even crossing the whitewash in the 6th minute thanks to a spectacular try scored by Peato Mauvaka. The hooker found space out wide and ran unopposed until the in-goal area, gliding past Donovan Taofifenua with a masterful dummy step before grounding the ball.

Montpellier tried to fight back and had every chance to level the score, but were unable to do so, allowing Toulouse to survive a 15-minute onslaught. The best Les Cistes managed was a penalty kick well-taken by Domingo Miotti.

Romain Ntamack, who enjoyed one of his best performances this season, restored the 7-point lead a few minutes later, before Miotti added his second penalty conversion of the evening.

Unfortunately for Joan Caudullo’s team, Toulouse raised the game’s tempo and clinched two more tries seven minutes to the break with Peato Mauvaka and Antoine Dupont bagging a finish each.

Ntamack managed to convert only one of the kicks, but returned to his best shortly, adding two penalties to send the defending champions into the break with a commanding 25–6 lead. While Billy Vunipola was putting out a valiant performance, Montpellier seemed unable to find a way past Toulouse’s defence.

Looking sharper after the break, Montpellier finally found the creativity to unlock the Rouge et Noir, as Gabriel Ngandebe set up Justo Piccardo for a well-worked try.

Matthis Lebel was sent to the sin-bin shortly after, as the winger made a deliberate knock-on that might have prevented Montpellier from scoring their second try.

Yet again, and facing a 14-man Toulouse side, the Cistes ran up against a red and black brick wall, committing several handling errors that ultimately played right into Toulouse’s hands.

Around the 52nd minute, Toulouse struck again through Romain Ntamack, who slotted a penalty kick to stretch the lead to 28–13.

From that point on, the game became a back-and-forth affair, with both teams squandering good opportunities, until a thunderstorm brought play to a halt.

Despite some uncertainty, play eventually resumed, and Montpellier struck immediately, crossing for a second finish to reignite the contest, as Léo Coly carved through the defence with a superb line before diving over. Coly slotted the conversion to bring the Cistes back within eight points of Toulouse.

With 15 minutes remaining, Montpellier threw everything at Toulouse but came away empty-handed, with their set-piece letting them down as they squandered two 5-metre lineouts that could have turned the game around.

Ugo Mola’s Stade Toulousain remained composed until the final whistle, sparking celebrations as they retained their Top 14 crown.

Just as he had done in last year’s final, Jack Willis delivered a near-flawless performance; the English flanker produced five jackals, three of them crucial in denying Montpellier a try, and captained Toulouse to a second four-peat in the club’s history.