Leinster book Champions Cup final place with dominant win over Toulouse

Leinster reached their first Heineken Champions Cup final in three years after dethroning Toulouse in a sure-footed 40-17 win at the Aviva Stadium.

The defending champions struggled to cope with the pace of the hosts’ attack, with James Lowe, the tournament’s top-scorer this season, claiming two of their four tries.

Leinster recovered from Antoine Dupont’s sixth-minute breakaway score to lead 23-10 at half-time. Lowe and Josh van der Flier both touched down and captain Jonathan Sexton kicked 13 points.

The unrelenting speed of Leinster’s play left Toulouse, a week on from their penalty shootout heroics here in Dublin, scrambling to plug leaks and they also lost lock Emmanuel Meafou to the sin bin.

Nonetheless, Tadhg Furlong’s 16th-minute injury-enforced departure was a big blow for the Irish province, with their scrum targeted by Cyril Baille and company.