A sizeable contingent of travelling Biarritz fans savour the balmy Parisian sunshine decked in the colours of the Basque flag for only their second ever appearance at a Heineken Cup final at the Stade de France
However, three-time champions Toulouse are renowned for their loyal army of supporters, who travel from the south-west of France in their thousands
Two penalties from the left boot of Dimitri Yachvili give Biarritz a 6-0 lead after an encouraging start
But Toulouse dominate the scrums, pulverising the Biarritz pack with a series of muscular shunts, and pressurising their defence with their attacking game, David Skrela offloading here to Thierry Dusautoir
But 'La 'Vierge Rouge' (the Red Virgins, as Toulose are known) turn to the boots of Florian Fritz, who thumps a long-range penalty and a drop-goal, and two three-pointers from Skrela (pictured) to take a 12-9 half-time lead
While their scrum is capitulating, Biarritz's line-out is far more reliable as new France call-up Wenceslas Lauret secures possession at the start of the second half
Full-back Iain Balshaw, one of two Englishman in Biarritz's starting XV, is forced to make a number of crucial tackles as Toulouse begin to impose their authority in the second half
Despite going down to 14 men when Patricio Albecete is sin-binned for tackling Benoit August without the ball, Toulouse extend their lead to 18-12 when Skrela lands two successive drop-goals in seven minutes
However, former Australia rugby league star Karmichael Hunt sets up an enthralling finale with a 73rd-minute try following a fine break by winger Takudzwa Ngwenya
But despite a late surge, Biarritz cannot find their way through Toulouse's defence and the final whistle sees full-back Iain Balshaw dejectedly watch the start of the celebrations
Captain Thierry Dusautoir holds aloft the trophy as Toulouse secure an unprecedented fourth Heineken Cup victory, double the number of titles won by Leicester, Wasps or Munster
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