Leigh Halfpenny and Bryan Habana earn Toulon extra-time win over Leinster

Some games are so bad they become almost comical. This was one of them, as farcical a spectacle as the previous day’s semi-final in St Etienne was uplifting. There was even the dubious bonus of extra time before Toulon finally kept alive their dream of becoming the first side to win three successive European titles, courtesy of the boot of the dead-eyed Welsh marksman Leigh Halfpenny and an interception try from Bryan Habana.

Those who only tuned in for the final 20-minute denouement had by far the best of it, the defending champions finally displaying a flicker of the class and resourcefulness that has won them the previous two tournaments. They were down to 14 men with Ali Williams in the sin-bin when the predatory Habana, right at the end of the first period of extra time, snaffled a long pass from Ian Madigan around the halfway line in trademark fashion and raced away to score.

Even then Leinster, given little chance by most beforehand, were not entirely done, Sean O’Brien scoring from a lineout drive to halt the premature touchline celebrations of Toulon’s owner Mourad Boudjellal. A pitch invasion from a local cat also briefly delayed the inevitable but 20 points from the boot of Halfpenny ultimately gave Toulon a barely deserved place in an all-French final against Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham on 2 May.

They will have to play infinitely better than this to secure an unprecedented treble. While significant respect is due to Leinster’s forwards for their cussedness and set-piece efforts this was often a grim experience. Do not bother seeking out the television highlights because, for the first 80 minutes, there were none. It was as poor a high-profile game as any in recent memory, certainly the worst involving two sides with so many prominent internationals. A greasy ball – lunchtime rain had temporarily made the Côte d’Azur feel like Skegness in October – slipped from countless fingers, a fretful Frédéric Michalak exerted negligible control and the Toulon loosehead Xavier Chiocci also had a shocker.

Mike Ross, one of Ireland’s Six Nations-winning linchpins, duly enjoyed himself and the lack of a firm Toulon foundation allowed Leinster to get an unexpected grip. It was all in marked contrast to the champions’ warm-up drills, overseen with painstaking care by a promising young assistant coach called Jonny Wilkinson. As he combined beautifully with Michael Claassens to test Toulon’s defensive alertness and hoisted inch-perfect punts for Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, you could almost read Michalak’s mind. On a wet day with a big semi-final to win, Wilkinson in blazer, slacks and loafers would still get most coaches’ votes to start.

Yet even after the hapless Michalak was finally hauled off – he did his best to look aggrieved but no one else in the stadium had the remotest sympathy – Toulon still found prolonged rhythm elusive. It took the overdue removal of Chiocci to stimulate a slight improvement, Halfpenny kicking his third penalty to level the scores at 9-9 with 24 minutes left. With the showers having died out, it was Leinster’s turn to worry.

They could have retaken the lead had a crucial Madigan penalty effort not bounced away off an upright yet the feeling persisted that Toulon could not possibly go 80 minutes without conjuring up something vaguely worthwhile. Belatedly it came, the replacement Rudi Wulf powering up the middle and forcing Leinster to slow the ball down illegally at the ensuing ruck, allowing Halfpenny another chance. To Leinster’s credit they hung in through the nerveless boot of Madigan and, when Delon Armitage mis-hit a 62-metre effort, extra-time duly materialised.

Strangely enough the sudden tension and potential for a goal-kicking shoot-out in the event of prolonged deadlockfinally seemed to awaken Toulon’s inner competitor. Even after Williams had harshly seen yellow for colliding with Devin Toner they looked more purposeful and Halfpenny, named man of the match, is just the man for such situations. Up in Clermont, even so, they will look at one or two of Toulon’s ageing galácticos and conclude a first European crown is well within their collective grasp.

Toulon Halfpenny; Armitage, Bastareaud, Giteau, Habana; Michalak (Wulf 47), Tillous-Borde; Chiocci (Menini 51), Guirado, Hayman (capt; Chilachava 75); Botha (Suta, 59), Williams; Smith (S Armitage, 36), Fernández Lobbe, Masoe.

Try Habana. Con Halfpenny. Pens Halfpenny 6.

Leinster Kearney; McFadden, Te’o, Madigan, Fitzgerald; Gopperth, Boss; Healy, Cronin, Ross (Moore 56); Toner, McCarthy; Murphy, O’Brien, Heaslip (capt).

Try O’Brien. Pens Madigan 5.

Referee W Barnes (Eng). Att 45,000