Barassi and Couilloud lead Lyon to Challenge Cup final win over Toulon

Toulon had been hoping to replicate the old glory days of Jonny Wilkinson and co but it was Lyon who emerged with the Challenge Cup spoils on a warm night in the south of France. This is the first European title ever claimed by the up-and-coming Top 14 side and, with their confidence now boosted, it is unlikely to be the last.

They might have won by an even wider margin, having been denied at least three more potential first-half tries, but were still good enough to turn a slender 10-7 half-time advantage into a 20-point cushion by the start of the final quarter. Lyon’s coach Pierre Mignoni, ironically, is returning to Toulon this summer and will hope this outcome has a suitably galvanising effect on the losers.

As an occasion it proved to be a slightly mixed aperitif for the main event involving Leinster and La Rochelle. Toulon may have seen off Saracens in some style in the semi-final but, with their international winger Gabin Villière forced off prematurely with a knee injury, they could not summon anything like the same zest and inspiration.

It was, even so, another indicator of the growing appetite for big rugby occasions in France. The crowd of over 51,000 was a record attendance for a Challenge Cup final and, amid the spills and occasional thrills, there were a few more reminders for the watching Eddie Jones that Les Bleus will take some beating at next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Jones and his assistant coaches were also on a scouting mission to check out the ground where England will potentially play a quarter-final. If this steep-sided, curving arena is even half as noisy and atmospheric in the absence of Toulon’s fanatical supporters, it will be special regardless of the weather.

The temperature was still up