Andrew Porter, who was named man of the match on Premier Sports: \u201cIt\u2019s incredible to see how we stuck in with 13 men at one point, they definitely put it to us the whole 80. You could feel the energy today, it was a special week. It\u2019s special for me after a bit of injury, but there\u2019s still work to do.<\/p>\n
Caelan Doris: \u201cTough fixture, I\u2019m sure the crowd were on the edge of their seats, but delighted to be going to another final. We\u2019ve got another one to look forward to. It feels good out there, there have been a few battles, hopefully that will stand to us. It feels good out there, there\u2019s good messages, there\u2019s good composure.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Leinster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/XGATOVY5BGW2DZ2EFBIUGX6OJY.jpg\")
Leinster’s Caelan Doris. Photograph: Brian Lawless\/PA <\/p>\n
Leinster can breathe again. The replacements did not have the impact they wished for and Toulon had all the momentum at the end as some old demons resurfaced for Leinster. But they did just enough this time and they\u2019ll be booking their flights to Bilbao to play Bath or Bordeaux in the final.<\/p>\n
80 mins: Leinster win a penalty, Toulon\u2019s Albornoz is penalised for a tackle on Osborne with arms which is costly for the French side. Into the final minute, as Byrne kicks into touch. They just need to see it out from here.<\/p>\n
Full-time: Leinster 29 Toulon 25<\/p>\n
Leinster are in the Champions Cup final!<\/p>\n
78 mins: Toulon have possession as they look to manufacture something and they do! Jaminet with a fantastic break, Leinster\u2019s defence all over the place, Drean beats a few men but Tuicuvu can\u2019t keep a hold of the pass and knocked on. But Leinster are well and truly rattled here. Four points in it.<\/p>\n
76 mins: Toulon are rallying and putting in some big carries, but they need two tries in the final stages. Leinster give away a penalty in the maul and they kick to touch.<\/p>\n
Try for Toulon! Wow what a comeback happening here. Brilliant pass after slipping from Serin, Albornoz with a crossfield kick to Drean who finishes brilliantly near the sideline, Prendergast poor defensively.<\/p>\n
Leinster 29 Toulon 25<\/p>\n
70 mins: Try for Toulon! Serin with a quickfire try not long after Leinster\u2019s try, Serin scores after a dummy from an attacking lineout. Slimani not alert after coming off the bench. Jaminet hit the post with the conversion but it went over on the rebound.<\/p>\n
Leinster 29 Toulon 18<\/p>\n
68 mins: Try for Leinster! The captain does it, Caelan Doris. From the lineout, Porter carries well and Gibson-Park passes to Doris near the line and shrugs off Mercer to score. Byrne converts.<\/p>\n
Leinster 29 Toulon 11<\/p>\n
66 mins: Tommy O\u2019Brien kicks deep into Toulon\u2019s half and good kick chase by Ioane forces a clearance and a good spot for a lineout. Leinster with a few phases as the crowd finds its voice and Doris gains a few metres. Keenan squeezes through another few metres and they\u2019re within a metre with advantage.<\/p>\n
Slow ball… Leinster are held up short and Toulon desperately hang on.<\/p>\n
61 mins: Penalty missed by Leinster! <\/p>\n
Toulon tried a maul from the halfway line but Leinster wrestled the ball over the line to turn it over. After the next lineout, originally the referee gave a penalty to Leinster but reversed it for a high tackle. Byrne kicked from a decent bit out and missed.<\/p>\n
58 mins: Good scrumhalf play by Gibson-Park as he kicks 60 metres to the other end of the pitch from the scrum.<\/p>\n
56 mins: The injuries are sadly piling up for Leinster as Conan limps off, Alex Soroka is on. Leinster leave big gaps and Toulon were flying through, Mercer to Ferte, the two replacements, but Ioane makes a very good final tackle by Ioane and the Toulon players mix it up and knock on.<\/p>\n
54 mins: Poor kick by Jaminet as it goes out the end line as O\u2019Brien receives treatment. Another scrum penalty for Leinster as Byrne kicks to touch and another attacking lineout as Toulon are back to 15 men. Gigashvili makes a big impact off the bench to turn over a scrum for Toulon.<\/p>\n
48 mins: Porter and Byrne are back on, it\u2019s Leinster that have the advantage as Toulon pass it forward. Van der Flier off for a HIA as Penny comes on. Leinster then win a penalty from a scrum.<\/p>\n
Penalty scored by Leinster! Maybe a pep talk after his break, but Byrne is back with a confident kick to extend the lead to 11 points.<\/p>\n
Leinster 22 Toulon 11<\/p>\n
45 mins: Yellow card for Toulon! Ribbans with the high tackle on Van der Flier.<\/p>\n
Try for Leinster! Wow, who would have expected that with 13 men? Sheehan shows the intent with a tap penalty. A bit of luck, Van der Flier\u2019s pass misses Osborne but falls to Ringrose who collects and finishes well. Ringrose is on conversions without Byrne and he misses badly from short range, not used to that responsibility.<\/p>\n
Leinster 19 Toulon 11<\/p>\n
The second half is under way.<\/p>\n
42 mins: A good start for Leinster as O\u2019Brien beats Ollivon to a catch after the restart. Leinster going through the phases as they try to kill some time before the carded players come back. But they are also creeping closer to the posts despite the number disadvantage.<\/p>\n
Leinster keep going and carry after carry they get to a few metres from the line. Heroic effort. They are held up on the line but they win a penalty.<\/p>\n
Half-time: Leinster 14 Toulon 11<\/p>\n
Well then, Leinster were the better team for much of that half, but two yellow cards in three minutes fairly changed the complexion of the game, and for the start of the second half it will just be about surviving for Leinster. All to play for here.<\/p>\n
![\"Toulon's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5QA33JHJSJMAFWY6PONSZPC6QU.jpg\")
Toulon’s French fullback Melvyn Jaminet kicks a penalty. Photograph: Paul Faith\/AFP via Getty <\/p>\n
40 mins: Time to suffer for Leinster to suffer as Ioane just about covers the ball with two men down and Toulon try to suffocate them. But they just about manage to keep the ball and Gibson-Park clears. Ioane is receiving treatment for a head injury, the crowd wants Ollivon to get penalised for a high tackle but not enough in it. Ioane has to go off with the head injury which is a blow, Cahir is on.<\/p>\n
38 mins: Try for Toulon! Tuicuvu gets a try after a few phases and had numbers over with the extra man after a successful lineout. Jaminey misses the conversion, but to further the terrible spell for Leinster, Harry Byrne gets a yellow card. Down to 13 players, oh dear.<\/p>\n
Leinster 14 Toulon 11<\/p>\n
36 mins: A good spell for Toulon as they conceded a few penalties and Albernoz finds a gap. Leinster manage to keep them from getting past the 22 but Doris is warned. <\/p>\n
Yellow card for Porter! High tackle on Shioshvili.<\/p>\n
33 mins: Try for Leinster! Van der Flier after TMO review successfully grounded the ball after Sheehan\u2019s tap penalty. Great carry and powers over. Well deserved as Byrne converts.<\/p>\n
Leinster 14 Toulon 6<\/p>\n
32 mins: Ioane has been lively and makes a jinking carry towards the 22. Byrne goes for a crossfield kick to Sheehan, Tuicuvu catches it but under pressure from Sheehan goes out of play. Good opportunity for Leinster.<\/p>\n
A maul from the lineout, Byrne makes a flat pass that goes wrong and Toulon intercept, but Toulon had conceded a penalty from the maul.<\/p>\n
29 mins: Byrne has had a disappointing game so far and he kicks it out on the full from the kick off to give away a scrum. But this time, Leinster win a penalty from it. From halfway, bit far out for Byrne\u2019s range and he kicks to touch. Long lineout caught by Conan, but another error by Leinster as Gibson-Park passes it forward.<\/p>\n
25 mins: Good effort by Gibson-Park to kick into O\u2019Brien on the sideline, but doesn\u2019t get the benefit of the bounce and goes out of play. From the kick by Toulon, Byrne does well to keep it in and clear but a bit of possession for Toulon now. Doris tried to steal it, but Pearce gives a penalty. Toulon going for the posts again.<\/p>\n
Penalty scored by Toulon! Jaminet scores, excellent kick from well out and they\u2019re back within one, despite barely being in Leinster\u2019s 22.<\/p>\n
Leinster 7 Toulon 6<\/p>\n
22 mins: From a lineout around the halfway, more scintillating rugby by rugby, a few quick passes, O\u2019Brien kicks into the corner with four or five seconds. Toulon survive as White clears, but they\u2019re under pressure. Toulon steal a lineout, but illegally, and Gibson-Park taps and goes again.<\/p>\n
20 mins: Try disallowed for Leinster.<\/p>\n
Brilliant attacking play by Leinster, quick passes and Ioane was almost through on the sideline. Then back to towards the posts and Porter gets within a few metres. Toulon then defend well and knock them back five metres but still have possession. Another great carry by Porter. Gibson-Park takes it off Porter and finishes, excellent work by Porter. <\/p>\n
The TMO checked Ioane on the sideline whether his foot was out of play but he kept it in by millimetres. But unfortunately when Gibson-Park picked the ball up from Porter, he knocked it on. Again it was only millimetres, very tight but probably a fair call.<\/p>\n
Leinster 7 Toulon 3<\/p>\n
17 mins: Penalty scored by Toulon! He was closer to the goal this time and it\u2019s straight over the posts. Ringrose had give away a penalty on Brex and Toulon went for the posts again.<\/p>\n
Leinster 7 Toulon 3<\/p>\n
Unfortunately Henshaw has been knocked out cold after a big carry by Shioshvili, Osborne is ready to come on. The stretcher is out for Henshaw, hopefully he\u2019s okay. A considerable delay in the game while he gets looked at.<\/p>\n
While we are waiting, here is a video of Conan\u2019s try:<\/p>\n
14 mins: Try for Leinster! Conan gets it, some great play after the lineout, varied attack and speed, then Gibson-Park fizzes it to Conan who is too strong for Toulon to stop him from short range. A better kick for the conversion by Byrne.<\/p>\n
Leinster 7 Toulon 0<\/p>\n
12 mins: Another error by Byrne from a penalty as he fails to find touch and an opportunity wasted. Then more nerviness on the ball before miskicking the ball not very far out of play.<\/p>\n
Chance then for Leinster, great breakdown by Leinster, Doris ripping it free and Gibson-Park shows smart instincts to kick into space. Ioane chases after it, Toulon survive but attacking lineout for Leinster.<\/p>\n
8 mins: Big hit by Tommy O\u2019Brien on Jaminet gets the crowd going and stops Toulon in their tracks. Toulon keep the ball for a while in hand before Leinster concede a penalty for offside. Toulon go for the posts as well.<\/p>\n
Penalty missed by Toulon! Jaminet was a long way out, got the distance but just goes wide. Still no score.<\/p>\n
Leinster 0 Toulon 0<\/p>\n
5 mins: Penalty missed by Leinster! Byrne makes a nervy first kick after they opted for the posts from a scrum penalty conceded by Gros.<\/p>\n
Leinster 0 Toulon 0<\/p>\n
3 mins: Toulon concede a penalty within 20 seconds through Junio Kpoku. Leinster kick to about halfway, then a Gibson-Park kick high into the air isn\u2019t caught by anyone before Toulon knock it on, Leinster scrum.<\/p>\n
The teams are out on the pitch, here are the starting teams again:<\/p>\n
LEINSTER:\u00a0Hugo Keenan; Tommy O\u2019Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Rieko Ioane; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).<\/p>\n
TOULON:\u00a0Melvyn Jaminet; Ga\u00ebl Dr\u00e9an, Nacho Brex, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Sinzelle, Seta Tuicuvu; Tomas Albornoz, Ben White; Jean-Baptiste Gros, Teddy Baubigny, Kyle Sinckler; Corentin Mezou, David Ribbans (capt); Junior Kpoku, Charles Ollivon, Mikheil Shioshvili.<\/p>\n
One more bit of reading before the game from Nathan Johns, who writes that Leinster have a tendency to win their matches in the final stages and have showed a flair for the dramatic. But that\u2019s not always the best thing as they sometimes don\u2019t do enough earlier in games. Check it out:<\/p>\n
[\u00a0Leinster are masters of the late show \u2013 is that a good or bad thing?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Gerry Thornley interviewed outhalf Harry Byrne before today\u2019s big game, a player who has moved ahead of Sam Prendergast in the pecking order for Leinster in recent months thanks to a string of fine performances.<\/p>\n Harry Byrne: \u2018All I wanted to do was come back and compete, have a fair crack\u2019<\/p>\n He could have joined Bristol full-time, or moved to Connacht, but opted to stay at Leinster. Why?<\/p>\n \u201cAll I wanted to do was come back and compete, have a fair crack, and that was the mindset I came in with from the start of the season. I said to myself: \u2018If I get an opportunity I just need to perform and then if you get another opportunity you need to perform again\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n It paid off. Leinster won in each of his first six starts, digging out wins in midwinter that he believes will stand to them. He certainly has no regrets about staying.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my home and I\u2019ve loved the season so far. We\u2019re right in the mix in the URC and now we\u2019re in a [Champions Cup] semi-final at home.\u201d<\/p>\n [\u00a0Harry Byrne: \u2018All I wanted to do was come back and compete, have a fair crack\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Conor Murray has to say about today\u2019s game:<\/p>\n Conor Murray: Leinster players need to channel Twickenham win to see off Toulon and make final<\/p>\n Leinster were built to conquer Europe last\u00a0season. All the pieces were in place. RG Snyman is injured and Jordie Barrett is away home, tearing up trees at the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n It must still haunt them that Porter, Barrett and Conan were benched for the semi-final loss to Northampton.<\/p>\n There are plenty of learnings \u2013 as we like to say in rugby \u2013 from that day at the Aviva Stadium. And plenty of cost. Caelan Doris missed a chance to captain the Lions in Australia as he damaged his shoulder trying to lead the turnaround of a 27-15 deficit.<\/p>\n That\u2019s probably the biggest lesson of all. When you are chasing down 12 points in a home semi-final, all the natural advantages start to work against you. The place goes quiet. Even the tiniest error is exacerbated by a collective groan from the crowd. The nervous energy spreads like wild fire. No team wants to be playing against two enemies: the clock and the opposition.<\/p>\n Leinster know they have to hit the ground running and not let up. That\u2019s how they always want to play, at a high clip.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Conor Murray: Leinster players need to channel Twickenham win to see off Toulon and make finalOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Here is Gerry Thornley\u2019s match preview:<\/p>\n Leinster have opportunity to purge Champions Cup demons against Toulon<\/p>\n It\u2019s only been a year in the making. Last season\u2019s loss at home to Northampton will always be the one that got away, but another home semi-final 12 months on offers a chance to not only reach a record-extending ninth final but – perhaps as importantly – to purge a few demons too.<\/p>\n Losing successive home semi-finals seems unthinkable, and while last year\u2019s defeat undoubtedly heightens the pressure on\u00a0Leinster<\/a>\u00a0to win, as Caelan Doris has conceded, that can be a motivator too, to play without all those regrets of a year ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you use a little bit of fear during the week to prep and then come game day it\u2019s just about letting go, attacking the game, having the courage to play the way we want to play and going for it completely – a little bit of letting go of the outcome and focusing on the process as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n In truth, that semi-final loss to Northampton was more mentally damaging than any of the three previous final losses. Lingering like a bad smell, it has also provided plenty of lessons throughout all of this season, as Doris also admitted.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Leinster have opportunity to purge Champions Cup demons against ToulonOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Champions Cup<\/a> semi-final between Leinster<\/a> and Toulon at the Aviva Stadium. Leinster are aiming to go one step further than last season when lost to Northampton at home in this stage, and win a first title since 2018. Since then they have remarkably lost four finals and two semi-finals, so if it\u2019s not to be another nearly season then a win against Toulon is needed here. Kick-off is at 3pm. Here are the teams:<\/p>\n LEINSTER:\u00a0Hugo Keenan; Tommy O\u2019Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Rieko Ioane; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).<\/p>\n Replacements:\u00a0R\u00f3nan Kelleher, Jerry Cahir, Rabah Slimani, Alex Soroka, Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.<\/p>\n TOULON:\u00a0Melvyn Jaminet; Ga\u00ebl Dr\u00e9an, Nacho Brex, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Sinzelle, Seta Tuicuvu; Tomas Albornoz, Ben White; Jean-Baptiste Gros, Teddy Baubigny, Kyle Sinckler; Corentin Mezou, David Ribbans (capt); Junior Kpoku, Charles Ollivon, Mikheil Shioshvili.<\/p>\n Replacements:\u00a0Gianmarco Lucchesi, Daniel Brennan, Beka Gigashvili, Matthias Halagahu, Zach Mercer, Baptiste Serin, Esteban Abadie, Mathis Ferte.<\/p>\n Referee:\u00a0Luke Pearce (RFU).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Champions Cup semi-final: Leinster 29 Toulon 25 I\u2019m away to cover Ulster v Exeter now, which you can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[32728,61,60,11287,112],"class_list":["post-428958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-champions-cup","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-leinster-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Leinster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DYGWTB6UR3GIEB4LXYT4HI7FJY.jpg\")
Leinster’s Harry Byrne. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n![\"Leinster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/JF7KMMIYGZD27PCG7TI3KKJEX4.jpg\")
Leinster’s Robbie Henshaw dejected after losing to Northampton. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo\/Inpho <\/p>\n![\"Leinster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SY6XGHSPZVK6GYKJ6CND3QVT7E.jpg\")
Leinster’s Caelan Doris. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n