Investec Champions Cup royalty is written in the 10 stars

Ten stars. Thirty years. Two clubs.

That’s the headline, but it’s the substance behind it that makes Stade Toulousain and Leinster Rugby the twin pillars of the Investec Champions Cup. They have such contrasting stories, but they have such similar journeys in their love affair with the Investec Champions Cup.

They mourn as much when they don’t win it as they celebrate when they do.

Both clubs are dominant and precious about their domestic competitions, the TOP 14 for Toulouse and the United Rugby Championship (URC) for Leinster, but their measurement, when speaking to coaches and the players, is always to be the best in the Champions Cup.

It is institutional and both lead the challenge in the round of 16 this weekend to qualify for next weekend’s quarter-finals.

These two, simply by virtue of numbers, are the greatest clubs to win the Champions Cup. RC Toulon, with three in succession, were history makers and Saracens, with three titles, are a symbol of excellence, but the strength of the Champions Cup is in the desire of clubs, in this instance Toulouse and Leinster, to keep on wanting to win, despite having won a third of the titles since inception.

There have only been 30 years in the history of the competition. There have been hundreds of the best clubs competing for gold but for two clubs to share 10 of the titles and to play in several finals, where the result did not favour one of them or either of them, says everything about how difficult it is to win the toughest knockout club competition in the sport.

So many magnificent club teams compete for gold in the Investec Champions Cup, but in the chase for the crown, the coronation, 30 percent of the time, comes down to these two.

Individually, against each other, or pitted against the many power clubs in the competition, they set the standard of picking the best, to get the best result.

The 2023/24 final was an epic, ranked by many as the greatest Investec Champions Cup final ever. The finalists were Toulouse and Leinster.

The winner was rugby.

The squads are blessed with among the best in the sport on this planet. Dupont, Ntamack. Ramos. Jelonch and Marchand are just a few. There are as many internationals in the Toulouse match 23 as there are in the Leinster 23. Invariably that number is 23.

Then there’s Leinster. Consistency. Composure. Clinical. Ringrose, Doris, Van der Flier, Gibson-Park and the Māori All Blacks-turned-Irish international winger James Lowe.

And many more.

What makes both these sides special is that they aren’t just peaking this season —they’ve been peaking for decades. Toulouse won the first final back in 1996 and they’ve been relevant ever since. Leinster’s golden era began in the mid 2000s, and their influence has never waned. They’ve evolved. Rebuilt. And reloaded.

Both sides must be applauded, not just because they win so much but because of how they win.

This season, both sides are running hot. Toulouse are bossing the Top 14. Leinster are cruising the URC. And in the Champions Cup pool rounds, both clubs have been immense.

There is an inevitability about both making the final four.

But the beauty of the Champions Cup is that there are so many quality teams wanting the challenge of their own star.

It is institutional and both lead the challenge for a place in the last four.