It’s almost as if the years 2006 to 2012 were some kind of crazy, wonderful dream.
French and English club sides are spending big while teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales bemoan their lack of financial clout. The wheel has turned.
You almost felt sorry for some of the Leinster fans, kitted out in their Christmas jumpers and sipping pints in one of Dublin 4’s many cosy pubs.
It was positively balmy and the rain clouds that threatened before kick-off had bogged off by the time play got underway. Shaggy must have been sweating buckets in his finery.
Leinster went 10-0 up in the opening quarter and it could been more were it not for a rushed pass by Luke Fitzgerald.
So close. So ultimately costly.
Toulon are not reigning, three-time European Cup champions for nothing, however, and flounced back into the tie.
Wave after wave of red jerseys sucked blue shirts in and Juan Smith trotted home when play came out to the deserted left flank.
Still, two Johnny Sexton penalties had Leinster 16-5 up at half-time and gave fans reason to believe the rot could be stopped.
The second half needed a Leinster score but they found themselves soaking tackles and living on the edge.
The only thing Leinster’s increasingly battered players could do to elicit cheers of support was to effect turnovers and put in big defensive hits. Isa being Isa…
Toulon had looked like a upturned bin for the guts of an hour but their all-star pack got their act together and phases began to build.
Drew Mitchell could have scored twice and further scores were denied by hearty defence from the likes of Tom Denton and Josh van der Flier.
Leinster were out of gas and out of ideas in the final 20 and were once again undone by a rolling maul. Replacement hooker Anthony Etrillard moshed over to make it 17-16.
By the time Tom Taylor’s penalty made it 20-16, many Blues fans had seen enough.
The Christmas list just got a bit longer.
