RC Toulon 24 Munster Rugby 16

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was the hero for Toulon, kicking 21 points for the TOP 14 outfit as they marched into the final.

The England legend exchanged penalties with Munster counterpart Ian Keatley during the first half, slotting four to his opposing number’s three, in addition to an opportunistic drop-goal on 30 minutes.

Toulon had to survive a period with 14 men after Juan Fernandez Lobbe was shown a yellow card for stamping on Munster’s Conor Murray on 28 minutes, but Wilkinson’s boot – and a huge kick from Steffon Armitage at the end of the half – saw them head into the break with an 18-9 lead.

Armitage was denied a try early in the second half as he put a foot in touch when diving over – Simon Zebo the man credited with preventing the score.

Zebo went on to notch the first try of the game on 52 minutes, ploughing over in the corner under immense pressure, with Keatley’s conversion moving Munster to within two points.

However, the Irish province’s pursuit of a third European title suffered a setback with just over an hour played as Keith Earls was sin-binned for tackling Dave Smith without the ball.

Wilkinson was on hand to punish the offence from the tee and he rounded off Toulon’s victory with another three-pointer in the closing stages after his side survived a series of Munster attacking lineouts.

Toulon went on to defeat Saracens 23-6 in the final at the Principality Stadium, clinching the second of their three consecutive European crowns.

This season’s EPCR Challenge Cup decider takes place on Friday 27 May before the Heineken Champions Cup showpiece on Saturday 28 May. Buy your tickets for the games at Stade Vélodrome HERE.

As EPCR’s 2022 finals at the iconic Stade Vélodrome in Marseille in May edge ever closer, we will be looking back at some of the epic European encounters the venue has hosted. We kick things off with a review of the 2014 Heineken Cup semi-final between RC Toulon and Munster Rugby.