Brennan was part of a superb defensive effort

The Dubliner enjoyed a memorable homecoming as the favourites weathered a courageous Perpignan comeback to win 22-17 at Lansdowne Road.

"This just makes my whole season," said Brennan. "It is probably the best occasion for me ever, other than my first cap.

"I joined this club full of stars and at the start of the season my goal was just to make the team.

"My other goal was to make the Heineken Cup final and we have won it. It is absolutely fantastic."

Brennan was even given the honour of leading Toulouse out by way of appreciation from his French team-mates.

When the referee blew his whistle it was a great feeling Toulouse captain Emile Ntamack

"The last few weeks they have been saying 'we are going to your home, your garden' and I didn't realise until I came out on to the pitch and looked behind me and I was on my own," he added.

"I was delighted to see Lansdowne Road so full and there was great support for both sides. It was fantastic."

Brennan admitted Toulouse had been given a fright with Yann Delaigue kicking their only points of the second-half in injury time, before Perpignan's late unconverted try.

"If we hadn't put over that penalty and they had scored that conversion, we would have been playing extra time," he noted.

Match report: Perpignan 17-22 Toulouse

For Toulouse captain Emile Ntamack, the only member of the side that lifted the inaugural trophy in 1996, the relief was immense.

"It is a real pleasure to win this trophy for a second time," he said. "I am very happy.

"The French Championship is great but for a team like Toulouse, it is perhaps more important now to do well in Europe.

"It was tough playing against the wind and Perpignan came back into the game.

Edmonds was well shackled

"But we were great in defence and when the referee blew his whistle it was a great feeling."

Perpignan fly-half Manny Edmonds, who landed four second-half penalties but missed two drop goal attempts, lamented his side's 19-0 half-time deficit.

"We didn't play too well in the first half and against a quality team like Toulouse you can't afford to give them that sort of lead," he said.

"We came back in the second half and played a lot better but we couldn't quite drag back those points.

"We made a couple of breaks where the support wasn't quite there but it was pretty hard to crack their defence.

"It has been really good throughout the tournament."