APRIL 2006 Toulouse 35 Leinster 41:IT'S HARD to believe that it is almost four years ago since that Heineken Cup quarter-final on a glorious afternoon in the Toulouse sunshine.

Leinster cut loose with a spectacular exhibition of uninhibited, running rugby. Brian O’Driscoll’s try set the ball rolling and while Shane Horgan and Cameron Jowitt also touched down behind the Toulouse line, it was Denis Hickie’s try that defined the way the Irish province played that day. It was a move started by Felipe Contepomi in his own 22 and culminated with Hickie stretching to dot down. Late tries by Yannick Nyanga and Yannick Jauzion flattered the home side.

NOVEMBER 2007

Toulouse 33 Leinster 6

LEINSTER HAD beaten the Leicester Tigers in their opening pool match but any aspirations were ruthlessly swept aside as the home team scored 27 unanswered points in the second half. The teams had gone in level, 6-6, at the interval.

The Irish province lost scrumhalf Chris Whitaker to a broken ankle and would go on to concede four tries to Clement Poitrenaud, Valentine Courrent, Cedric Heymans and Vincent Clerc, Courrent adding a penalty and two conversions. It was a very chastening afternoon for Leinster, a far cry from what they had managed in both performance and result 18 months earlier.

JANUARY 2008

Leinster 20 Toulouse 13

THE RETURN match at the RDS carried certain ramifications for a Leinster side who had lost away to Edinburgh the previous month and who required a bonus-point victory to keep their dwindling European hopes alive. It was Toulouse though who would leave Dublin with a (losing) bonus point despite a brace of cracking tries from Leinster wing Luke Fitzgerald. Yves Donguy got the all-important try for the French side when trailing 17-6 and, despite a late drop goal, from Felipe Contepomi, the visitors clung to that point. Leinster would lose to the Tigers in their final pool outing with Toulouse eventually succumbing to Munster in the final.