2012 Heineken Cup final: Leinster Rugby 42 Ulster Rugby 14

A record Heineken Cup final crowd of 81,774 at Twickenham Stadium saw Leinster win the top EPCR title for the third time in four years and become only the second side in the tournament’s history to successfully defend their crown.

The only team in the previous 16 seasons to be able to hang on to the Heineken Cup was Martin Johnson’s Leicester side of 2002. Leo Cullen’s men bettered that as the Leinster skipper became the first man to lift the Heineken Cup three times.

Their amazing effort in the first all-Irish final also allowed them to break a number of Heineken Cup final records. Their 42 points overtook the 34 scored by Leicester in their 2001 win over Stade Français Paris, their five tries beat Brive’s four in the 1997 final and their 28-point winning margin eclipsed Brive’s 19 against Leicester.

Ulster dominated the opening exchanges but had only a penalty from the reliable boot of Ruan Piennar to show for it and Ulster had to wait until the final kick of the first half to score again via Pienaar again.

Once they got the pace of the game, Leinster began to weave their magic and two tries from short range, both converted by Johnny Sexton, followed to give them a 14-6 interval lead, the first via Sean O’Brien and the second from Cian Healy.

Ulster then gifted the defending champions their third try when Andrew Trimble dived into the middle of the driving maul and brought it to ground two metres short, leading referee Nigel Owens to award a penalty try.

Sexton added a third conversion and suddenly there was real daylight between the sides at 21-6. Pienaar landed a third penalty three minutes later, but Sexton replied and the only time the gap closed significantly was when Dan Tuohy crossed in the right corner for Ulster’s only try on the hour.

Pienaar couldn’t convert, but at 24-14 there was half a chance for Ulster. However, instead of crumbling under the pressure, Leinster rose to the threat and finished with a flourish as they scored tries through Heinke van der Merwe and Sean Cronin.

Sexton added two more penalties to end with a match tally of 15 points and Fergus McFadden knocked over the final conversion of Cronin’s try to bring the curtain down on a record-breaking performance by the champions.

With the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium set to host the Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup finals in May 2024, we’re taking a look back at some of the showpiece games London has staged over the years.