Flew in from America with my 8 yr old son to support Leinster and met up with my childhood rugby mates from Suttonians RFC. The writing was on the wall. We barely beat Northampton. We kicked for touch when we should have kicked points. We were dropping balls and over running in the support lanes. 17 turnovers and gave up 10 points when Lowe went off with a yellow. Toulouse came in on form, kicked all their points, won the break down battle. Slowed down our quick signature ruck ball and were fully deserving of the win! I'll finish by saying, incredible stadium.

Don't have the TV audience for other countries, but for France it was 3 millions people watching the finale

Stopped watching news during covid. Freed up a lot of time for rugby.

Saw it coming as a Leinster fan, tbh. I thought we were incredibly lucky against Northampton. I didn't expect the Toulouse defence to put in a performance like that, they were brilliant. Dupont is hands down the best player in the world. PS it was X-Pac 🤣

I’m an Ulster fan but my dad’s from Leinster so I watch most of their games. In 2022 and 2023 Leinster were dominating Europe and just bottled the finals. This year felt different,they really haven’t impressed in Europe or the urc. Their attack was very poor all year and they struggled vs Northampton and only beat Leicester due to Gibson park having a 10/10 game with some individual try’s from nothing. Even in the URC Leinster looked all over the place against Ulster the week before the final despite having a strong team and us (Ulster) being shit.

Leinster/Ireland fan who was at the game. Firstly, DC's performance against B&I lions was the best I have ever seen. Leinster were not playing that way, seemed uncoordinated in the backs between themselves. No problem going for tries, but when the defense is that good, change tactics. And Toulouse's first try, was a defensive error by Lamour. And seemed to put the game beyond Leinster. What a tense game, from the stadium the teams seemed to nullify each other. DuPont probably the overall difference in the outcome.

With some players it doesn't matter with whom they play. I recall lomu bulldozing everyone including my own nation, even as a kid you just had to admire the skill. Same with dupont. Sure I wanted mack Hanson to score that try but dupont tackle was pure artistry (or powery). Some players transcend even the nations and clubs for whom they play (loved watching Shane Williams!)

DC 10 performance against B&I was out of this world have not seen a performance like that since... in a league of its own... just like he was...

The scheduling conflict with the FA Cup final has probably something to do with European club football having to wrap up earlier this year because of Euro 2024 starting in mid June.

12:03 I love the irony of Tony not knowing how to mime "stirring the pot". Looks like a grandad that was forced to dance at a wedding 😂😂😂

I must be a sore loser, because I couldn't bring myself to watch this video until now. I wanted to, but it was too soon. It wasn't as bad as when Ireland were knocked out of the WC but very similar. I just didn't want to talk about it or listen to others talk about it. And Leinster are my third team in Ireland after Munster and Connacht. Well done Toulouse and let me be the first to say it, that young Dupont lad has a bright future in Rugby if he keeps at it. He is some talent, they don't come along too often, Lomo, O'Driscoll, Carter, McCaw and a few others had that X factor. Antoine is exceptional, it will be interesting to see how he does in the Olympics, he is one of those players that could win the competition on his own. As always, Tony is on fire. What an entertainer. I love the dynamic between the two of you, it really works. Its very natural. And then Tony goes off on a complete tangent ! I really like Leo Cullen, so for him I hope that Leinster win the URC. But, I also want Munster to win it. Leinster are the best team in the URC but its not always the best team that wins. Ok, I've decided, I want Leinster to win it so that Leo Cullen keeps his job and lets face it Munster won it last year.

Not going for the three points in the beginning cost Leinster the game. It really surprised me that they played like that especially if you consider what happened the previous two seasons where they also lost close games. In finals you always take any easy points.

bad weekend to be the blue team versus the red team

Dupont? ....i want one for christmas !!

Frawley looked good. He definitely got clocked but it was in extra time. The real issue was Leinster refusing the points.

DuPont is an excellent scrum half but they survived off kicks and Leinster’s arrogance on not going for the posts. Dorris will learn from this as captain.

Bulls vs Stormers 2010...Tony.

Whether we cheated or not, the trophy is still in the cabinet.

If the other guy genuinely thinks the WC Eben knock back was knocked forward with all the available footage... he's a true blooded Kiwi through and through get him a spot on the New Zealand pundits table for every AB game love those clowns and their takes

The Champions cup final venue and dates were booked up over a year in advance. Then the English FA decided to have their cup final on the same day at the same time. Football associations in England don’t care much for anything else. To be fair though, it was on the other side of London. I didn’t see any Man United or Man City fans all day.

It was Paul Williams who reffed that game. I agree there were two bad calls. But the yellow for Naholo was the correct decision. He was in an offside position first which forced a cleanout that could have otherwise protected the ball from being available for a turnover.

I have a dream... Would be interesting to see the top 4 of each world rugby league play a straight forward knockout format till there's a winner. I know it's fanciful thinking due to congested fixture lists. But I would imagine the two European cup finalists automatically qualify and that allows the 5th ranked team in that respective league to qualify. Also applicable for English teams. So for example the 5th teams placed in the URC and Top 14 as Leinster and Toulouse will automatically qualify being European Cup finalists. If Sarries played then the 5th English Premier gets a look in. Then the top four from the URC, 4 from the French Top 14, 4 from the English premiership and 4 from SuperRugby then maybe invite the winners of the Japanese league and the best South American club. This way each top tier nation will be represented and will create renewed interest among club supporters. Each play home and away like the soccer European cup with away points counting more. Each winner on to the next round and a home and away final winner takes all so no one can complain about home advantage. Maximum 8 games. Play it in the year between RWC's and knock international games on the head for those two months. We already do it for the RWC so it can be done. Start all games on the same weekend and complete the competition in 6-8 weeks. None of these long drawn out fixture lists that take months and months to complete where fans lose track and interest as it just takes too long. Best total score between the 2 games determines the winner. Imagine your club playing the second final at home knowing that they only need to beat their opponents by a certain margin to be world club champions but knowing that the opposition points are worth more due them playing away from home. Players play for the club that employs them. There are some serious international World Cup winners plying their trade in the Japanese league. I wouldn't want to play a Japanese team with Ardie Savea, PSDT, Kwagga Smith, Damian Dallende, Jesse Kriel, Beauden Barret, Aaron Smith, Richie Mounga, Brodie Retallick lurking around. I'd definitely watch these games as it would give a strong indication of which league has the most powerful teams and the different styles of play. Imagine your team being known as World Club champions... How cool would that be. It would also maybe encourage teams to play outside their normal strategies due to away points counting more. Something like the home teams converted try counting the standard 7 points but for the away team it counts 10. This will bring in new tactics and ways of playing. The teams playing the second fixtures know away points count more so they'll go gang busters for the win...I can hear Dr Rassie's brain whirring away already 😁. Each group will only have teams from other countries in it. For example you can't start with a group having Toulouse and La Rochelle in it. But it's also possible that 2 teams from the same country could reach the finals. So a group would have the no 1 ranked team from their league for eg Leinster then nr 2 from another League (Exeter Chiefs for eg) then 3rd placed team in SuperRugby (possibly The Tahs or the Highlanders) and the 4th placed team in the Top 14 (Castres or Bordeaux). Imagine the endless possibilities in match ups. Clubs will be strongly incentivised to retain players and to grow strong youth academies. Imagine a Toulouse vs Auckland Blues home and away finals played on back to back weekends and there's only a 5 point difference between the teams....or Stormers vs Harlequins at Newlands and Twickenham respectively or Leinster vs the Canes, Munster vs Fijian Drua, Los Pumas vs Wild Knights in Tokyo and Buenos Aires one weekend after another. One can only dream... Thoughts?

Re the Red Card in the Chiefs-Canes game; Parsons' explanation on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod makes sense to me. His point was that the lad's tackling technique is a bit suspect because he's squared up, is driving upwards and dropped the arm on the leading shoulder so has essentially lost control of where the contact will be. Parsons basically said that teams will watch him tackle and could even start targetting him if he doesn't tidy it up as he'll become a walking card. just editing to add, that the good thing is that even if it was a harsh red, at least the 'cane were back to 15 after 20 minutes.

You can't play your best players all the time in Europe. URC teams play 29 games a season if they play in Investec and URC final. Gallagher teams 28 and Top 14, 34 games. Super Rugby is 17 games max per season.

jack willis made 41 tackles , you stat is only for the 80 mins not 100 mins

Wow hopefully I catch tony at the origin, that will be a funny chat with a cold one 🍺

I cant wait for the world club championship coming in 2028. That is going to be amazing

Congrats to Tony on the engagement!

Nothing wrong with a bit of Tool - last gig I went to just before covid stopped such things.

31:42 that blond Toulouse midfield fella got away with a no arms shoulder charge. Pretty blatant but the ref ignored it even when the crowd was booing the replays. I thought the ref made the Lowe yellow card decision too quickly, especially considering he took about 5 mins each to decide to award van der flier’s try and the Toulouse red card.

I always watch to the end, just not all in one go. might stuff up stats if people are coming in and out

Leinster and ireland is the same they struggle in big games

Suck it mark, how many chances do the crusaders need to give the rest of you all to win a title? Last year half our team was injured, then the replacements for the replacements got injured. This season we handicap ourselves by having most of our experienced players decide not to play a majority of the season. Rotate pretty much our whole squad week in week out....We also choose a coach with one of the worst super records....if Fiji lose this game you're all doomed. Better pray that Fiji win

Leinsters drive for 5 wasnt about the five stars it was about losing 5 finsls 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

Somebody's a Tool fan 6:20. Noice! I don't care what people say about you, Tony. You're alright. :)

cracks me up, the irony of a couple of blues fans listing missing injured players after losing a game to the Saders!

The real tony shows up for two seconds in this video 18:47 19:24

Shouldve taken the points leinster...

I’ll be honest, I used to get annoyed with how long it took to get to the rugby, now I’m here for the silliness at the start 😂 I’m even more annoying than Tony, I’m always singing something- and I don’t sound good either. Humming isn’t that bad in comparison.

The ref's interpretation of Perofeta's yellow was deemed a 'cynical action' and the intention was to 'disrupt a try scoring chance'. Personally, I'm not sure but that's why the ref carded the player, nothing to do with how many hands he got to the ball.

Great Video

If the drop kick went over game won. but if my aunt had ⚽⚽ she would be my uncle! The Irish way is the maul but most teams do use it. But in a final you must take all points afforded to you. Big mistake they should have done, but where were the coaches they should have sent the message on the pitch kick the penalties could have 12 points so upwards and onwards here to the next one. The coaches should have told them take 3 points but why is my question as I already said 12 points missed for what, coaches have to have a bloody good talking to. We Irish always look forward not backwards in sport the next one and the next one and the next one! The officials did not pick up everything hmm? Come on Munster my province. Eire go Bragh.☘☘☘☘☘☘☘Here's to the summer S. A.

Tony don't worry, the Blues didn't play to their peak but weren't too bad. Taylor & Blackadder carried the Crusaders along with the crowd, and then the Perofeta yellow was really costly. With Papali'i back they'll have a bit more starch in contact, and I reckon Heem back at 12 will be better for them too.

That triumph or disaster video would be a smash hit, level it up by getting a promo deal with the Auckland based company "triumph & disaster"!

you guys didnt even mention the japanese competition final on the weekend for that matter!

The camera is in focus this week. I give credit to Mark for that.

NEWSFLASH for you two. It was not just the Champions Cup Final & F.A Cup Final it was also the first Old Firm Scottish Cup Final in 20 years Rangers V Celtic. Champions Cup Kicked off @ 14.45 Scottish Cup Final Kicked Off @ 15.00 F.A Cup Final Kick Off @ 15.00. So it was kind of the impossible task on Saturday to keep track of all three. What we did is I watched The Scottish Cup Final on T.V & Champions Cup on my tablet. My Girlfriend how is a Manchester City fan watched the F.A Cup Final. There was also The D.F.B Pokal Final in Germany @ 19.45 on Saturday night The German F.A Cup final I did not have time to watch that. Alan Shields Hamilton South Lanarkshire Scotland. The Old Firm goes much deeper than just rivalry it's about more than just a game much more. Alan Shields Hamilton South Lanarkshire Scotland.

Panasonic Saitama Wild knights vs Toshiba Brave lupus Tokyo. I went - was a wacky ass game - great fun!

Boire de la bière (pas très bonne, j'imagine) en canette... Quelle hérésie !!! (what a shame !) 😂

I remember gazza promised that you would wear the saders jersey this week?

Toulouse played well but honestly (as a toulouse fan) Without Dupont, Leinster would probably have won this match. But they also made a lot of avoidable mistakes. So it's hard to guess.

Just to let you know guys that google podcasts is being shelved. Its a shame i know.

Still here

Didn't the lions beat Conacht the other day with 14 men ? 😅 if you re watch the game The All Blacks actually started playing better with 14 men as well but you still lost 😊

You guys should do a collab with wildkard Tony and him will get along well!

Leinster are possibly an RG Snyman & Jordie Barret signing away from winning champions Cup 😉

Your blues have to not finish 1st... the zombie lives!!!!

It's Brynn Hall!!! Come on hat man!

fingers cross the Drua lose and we get an awesome Blues vs Saders Quaterfinal!!!

Cool hat. Makes you sound wise

On the Sky hype for Union vs Origin. They're trying now but their build up packages just prior to the kick off are a bit cringe. Also, TJ & Nisbo - have given great service over the years, and have been awesome, but they really need to move aside for a younger generation of commentators who can present the game a bit differently. McTainsh is my fave of the new ones Sky has on the books. Also, the 30 minute pre-match show where its marshy & sir john mostly bloviating on vibes rather than cool analysis and breakdowns of matchups player-player, or tactics vs tactics etc is a missed opportunity for mine too.

On my new account, I was at the game Mark, what an atmosphere. Just 2 unbelievable teams. I managed to vlog the whole thing so will put out a video soon if it, already got one up for the challenge cup final which was also a great game!

I don't know in what world you live but Super Rugby is nowhere close to the European leagues. The Crusaders have won only three games and they can still make the playoffs. If they win their last game they have a real chance of making the playoffs with only 4 wins out of 14 games. What a joke, you literally can target four games and make the playoffs. For comparison the URC teams win 9 wins have no chance of making the playoffs and there is a real possibility that a team with 10 wins out of 18 is not going to make the playoffs.

Line kicking………extremely poor…..didn’t apply proper pressure…….15m is wayyyyy to much to maul……

Disagree with your take on deliberate knock-ons. If the intent to catch prevails and grants no yellow card or penalties then everyone will be constantly trying to touch the ball and most attacks will be disrupted. The law as it is should stay this way or else you won't see many attacks succeed.

... Rogue one the best star wars movie. Yes I said it.

Leinster are badly in need of a good captain. Neither Doris or Ryan are up to the job of making the right decision to go for the posts or not.

The thing that gets me with the blues v crusaders Yellow card was bullshit what was more bullshit the fact that the crusaders never got a card as they a warning for offside would mean that at anytime or anywhere on the field it should be a card for offside well they then have at least 4-5 offside penalties against them with no card One more thing with the roll away penalty If there is a player in the ruck and stuck with no contest from that team then play on get the ball out

Ewoks suck, Tool are awesome.

Leinster are serial chokers

Bit of a misleading title If frawley got his drop goal And or Byrne took his shots the story would have been different Your title should be Toulouse edge a thriller

The build up hype might be good Tony but the game is still boring apart from the last 10 mins😃I wouldn't want there to be no anti League comments on here for you!

He might be good... But clearly not good enough to beat the Springboks for a world cup! 😂