Byron Kelleher: 'I could get used to this lifestyle...'
Clermont Auvergne: 20
Tries: A Rougerie, D Zirakashvili
Cons: B James 2
Pens: B James 2
Toulouse: 26
Tries: W Servat, M Médard
Cons: JB Elissalde 2
Pens: JB Elissalde 2, M Kunavore, V Courrent
About 100 miles east of Paris may lie the sparkling province of
Champagne-Ardenne, where toasting is part of one's daily pleasures, but
any al-frescoing would've gone some way to match the fizzy feast of
French rugby flavour going on in the capital.
Toulouse, home to French club rugby, claimed claimed a 17th Bouclier de Brennus, after breaking Clermont Auvergne hearts for a jinxed ninth time at a sold-out Stade de France.
Seven years since their last league triumph, Toulouse triumphed through tries from William Servat and one spectacular effort from top marksman, Maxime Medard, as Clermont's customary free-scoring deserted them when they needed it most.
Jean-Baptiste Elisalde defied all medical probability to trundle about battered and bruised for sixty minutes.
Every time the ball arrived in his intelligent hands, the athletic presence of the world's best centre, Yannick Jauzion, ensured his taped up ribs could survive the brutal battle between France's best.
Painful memories of the heartbreaking European Cup Final defeat to Munster were shortlived as Clermont were the one's nursing heavier emotions once again.
It was typically French, full of flair, brimming with life, perfect for evening diners seeking fullsome entertainment. And there wasn't an empty plate in the house.
Le Plat de Jour was a large piece of New Zealand lamb. Byron Kelleher signing off his first season in south-west France with a flawless work-out.
Feisty around the fringes, the All-Black epitomised the Toulousian temperament - taking the pressure off the dead-legged Elissalde and the hungry pack with a number of calm clearances, orchestrating matters with a champon head.
les Januards were their own worst enemy. Their set piece was dire.
Even with Mario Ledesma and John Smit, the top two hookers in the world, Messrs Pelous and Bouilhou in for more than just the scraps in the lineout, intervening at crucial stages towards the end.
Fever pitch had already erupted before the whistle, but the game kicked-off at a furious pace with the ball being shipped around like a hot-potato such was the sublime off-loading and all-round handling skills.
William Servat crashed over after a trademark incisive Kelleher break following Brock James' earlier penalty.
Instead of sticking with their free-flowing mutli-faceted brand of rugby, Clermont chose to play a terrotorial game, waiting to pounce on a mistake, and captain Aurelien Rougerie pounced on a defensive mix-up between Medard and Dan Humaan for a try. But that was it for errors.
Inseparable at the break, it took a vinatage moment of brilliance, fitting of such a magnificent finale, to really nail down the result.
Deep inside his own 22, replacement flanker, Finau Maka powered through a couple of tackles before the ball found Yves Donguy on the wing, who sliced inside a couple of trailing defenders, and a deft one-handed off-load out of the tackle allowed Maxime Medard to step off his right wing and under the posts.
Both sides exchanged penalties and with Toulouse's sea of supporters dressed in red celebrating, Clermont's Georgian giant Davit Zirakashvili bulldozed over for a consolation effort, credit for a bruising perormance, but even while Brock James knocked over the conversion, Toulouse's stars were already popping the corks.