WHEN YOU WALK in the front door of Leinster’s headquarters in Dublin, the first thing that catches your eye is the glittering trophy cabinet on the right of the room.
In the centre of it, in pride of place, are the three Heineken Cups and one Champions Cup that give Leinster so much of their identity.
It’s been a long time since the most recent of them was won, but these trophies are at the heart of Leinster.
And the same is true in Toulon.
The French club won the last of their three Heineken Cups in 2015, a third consecutive success in the competition. That glorious period of dominance included a Heineken Cup and Top 14 double in the 2013/14 season.
Times have changed. This weekend’s visit to Dublin to play Leinster will be Toulon’s first semi-final in the Champions Cup in 11 years. But those glory days remain central to how the club sees itself.
Mathieu Bastareaud, who started at outside centre in each of Toulon’s winning finals, now works as the team manager, providing a daily reminder of the good old days.
“Having a figure like that around the team with the experience he has, it brings an aura to the group,” says Scotland scrum-half Ben White, who joined Toulon in 2023.
“He has done amazing things for the club. Everywhere you walk around the campus, there’s pictures of the double-winning team.
“There’s pictures of when they’ve won the European Cups. There’s European Cups in the reception as you walk into the place. It’s obviously a very firm footprint on the club. It’s an incredible history that they’ve built over that period.
Toulon with the 2015 Heineken Cup trophy. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“We have an opportunity to try and do the same. That’s why we’re here. That’s why you play rugby, to play in these big games.”
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Toulon were last involved in a Champions Cup semi-final in 2015, when they beat Matt O’Connor’s Leinster in extra time in Marseille before overcoming Clermont in the final.
Their most recent Top 14 final appearance was in 2017 when they lost to Clermont, although Toulon did win the Challenge Cup in 2023 and were also beaten finalists of that competition in 2020 and 2022.
In short, they haven’t been the force of old in the past decade. Yet the local supporters still have high standards.
“You’re very aware that there’s an expectation in every game that you play to win, no matter who you play against, no matter where you play,” says White.
“It’s a very proud rugby city. It’s in its core. That’s just what the people of Toulon expect, that we’re knocking around these big matches. And once you get to these big matches, you can feel the city get behind you, the excitement growing.
“People come up to you all the time. It’s obviously a very cool place to be in at the minute and you feel the excitement in the city
“Obviously, players that have been here for a long time, who have experience of winning things here, they speak about how amazing it is to do that.
“As a player like me, who hasn’t won something here, you crave that. You get excited about the stories that people tell of those big days.”
Leinster are favourites on home soil but White says Toulon’s self-belief was enhanced by winning a tight quarter-final away to Glasgow, having squeezed past the Stormers in the round of 16.
Toulon celebrate in Glasgow after their quarter-final win. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
There is a decent sense of familiarity with the Leinster players, many of whom White and some of his French team-mates have played against in Test rugby.
“Obviously, it’s predominantly the same players [who play for Ireland],” says White. “It’s a large bulk of them and they get to play with each other a lot, and they’re very cohesive in the way that they play.
“So, yeah, we’ve obviously spoken around what worked for the France boys and using their experience in those big games against Ireland. We’re trying to implement some of those things.
“But a lot of it is about sort of how we want to impose ourselves on the game, what we want to focus on, how we want to attack and defend, and if we can play our game and do that, then we have a good chance as well.”
Indeed, White says the bulk of Toulon’s preparation has focused on “being really close-knit as a group” ahead of the visit to the Aviva Stadium.
The scrum-half is excited about trying to get Toulon’s “fast and elusive” threats like prolific wing Gaël Dréan into the game, while he’s also backing the Top 14 side’s forwards to pose a threat with their maul.
But they have to be cognisant of the dangers Leinster pose. The man in the Irish province’s number nine shirt, Jamison Gibson-Park, is the ringleader.
White knows him and lots of the other Irish players after being called up to last year’s Lions tour as an injury replacement.
“Jamo is a great player,” says White. “Obviously, I got to spend some time with him in the summer and see how he operates.
“He’s a very skilful player. So, yeah, it’s always a great opportunity to go up against a top player like Jamo.
Ben White with Jamison Gibson-Park on the Lions tour. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“One of the things that I was really impressed with was just the connection that the Irish boys have. They’ve been playing together for a long time and they’re very habitual in the way that they play.
“They’re very connected and their connection is probably one of their biggest strengths.
“Playing with some of those Irish boys, you’ve got to feel the way that they hit rucks and are physical in that area, the speed of ball that it gives you off the back of that was obviously nice to play with, but on the flip side of that, you know that it’s a massive part of the game and if we can control that part of the game, it will give us a good chance.
“So that battle there is going to be a big, big contest.”
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'There's European Cups in the reception... It's a very proud rugby city'
WHEN YOU WALK in the front door of Leinster’s headquarters in Dublin, the first thing that catches your eye is the glittering trophy cabinet on the right of the room.
In the centre of it, in pride of place, are the three Heineken Cups and one Champions Cup that give Leinster so much of their identity.
It’s been a long time since the most recent of them was won, but these trophies are at the heart of Leinster.
And the same is true in Toulon.
The French club won the last of their three Heineken Cups in 2015, a third consecutive success in the competition. That glorious period of dominance included a Heineken Cup and Top 14 double in the 2013/14 season.
Times have changed. This weekend’s visit to Dublin to play Leinster will be Toulon’s first semi-final in the Champions Cup in 11 years. But those glory days remain central to how the club sees itself.
Mathieu Bastareaud, who started at outside centre in each of Toulon’s winning finals, now works as the team manager, providing a daily reminder of the good old days.
“Having a figure like that around the team with the experience he has, it brings an aura to the group,” says Scotland scrum-half Ben White, who joined Toulon in 2023.
“He has done amazing things for the club. Everywhere you walk around the campus, there’s pictures of the double-winning team.
“There’s pictures of when they’ve won the European Cups. There’s European Cups in the reception as you walk into the place. It’s obviously a very firm footprint on the club. It’s an incredible history that they’ve built over that period.
“We have an opportunity to try and do the same. That’s why we’re here. That’s why you play rugby, to play in these big games.”
Toulon were last involved in a Champions Cup semi-final in 2015, when they beat Matt O’Connor’s Leinster in extra time in Marseille before overcoming Clermont in the final.
Their most recent Top 14 final appearance was in 2017 when they lost to Clermont, although Toulon did win the Challenge Cup in 2023 and were also beaten finalists of that competition in 2020 and 2022.
In short, they haven’t been the force of old in the past decade. Yet the local supporters still have high standards.
“You’re very aware that there’s an expectation in every game that you play to win, no matter who you play against, no matter where you play,” says White.
“It’s a very proud rugby city. It’s in its core. That’s just what the people of Toulon expect, that we’re knocking around these big matches. And once you get to these big matches, you can feel the city get behind you, the excitement growing.
“People come up to you all the time. It’s obviously a very cool place to be in at the minute and you feel the excitement in the city
“Obviously, players that have been here for a long time, who have experience of winning things here, they speak about how amazing it is to do that.
“As a player like me, who hasn’t won something here, you crave that. You get excited about the stories that people tell of those big days.”
Leinster are favourites on home soil but White says Toulon’s self-belief was enhanced by winning a tight quarter-final away to Glasgow, having squeezed past the Stormers in the round of 16.
There is a decent sense of familiarity with the Leinster players, many of whom White and some of his French team-mates have played against in Test rugby.
“Obviously, it’s predominantly the same players [who play for Ireland],” says White. “It’s a large bulk of them and they get to play with each other a lot, and they’re very cohesive in the way that they play.
“So, yeah, we’ve obviously spoken around what worked for the France boys and using their experience in those big games against Ireland. We’re trying to implement some of those things.
“But a lot of it is about sort of how we want to impose ourselves on the game, what we want to focus on, how we want to attack and defend, and if we can play our game and do that, then we have a good chance as well.”
Indeed, White says the bulk of Toulon’s preparation has focused on “being really close-knit as a group” ahead of the visit to the Aviva Stadium.
The scrum-half is excited about trying to get Toulon’s “fast and elusive” threats like prolific wing Gaël Dréan into the game, while he’s also backing the Top 14 side’s forwards to pose a threat with their maul.
But they have to be cognisant of the dangers Leinster pose. The man in the Irish province’s number nine shirt, Jamison Gibson-Park, is the ringleader.
White knows him and lots of the other Irish players after being called up to last year’s Lions tour as an injury replacement.
“Jamo is a great player,” says White. “Obviously, I got to spend some time with him in the summer and see how he operates.
“He’s a very skilful player. So, yeah, it’s always a great opportunity to go up against a top player like Jamo.
“One of the things that I was really impressed with was just the connection that the Irish boys have. They’ve been playing together for a long time and they’re very habitual in the way that they play.
“They’re very connected and their connection is probably one of their biggest strengths.
“Playing with some of those Irish boys, you’ve got to feel the way that they hit rucks and are physical in that area, the speed of ball that it gives you off the back of that was obviously nice to play with, but on the flip side of that, you know that it’s a massive part of the game and if we can control that part of the game, it will give us a good chance.
“So that battle there is going to be a big, big contest.”
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Ben White Leinster RCT Toulon