Toulouse take title in scrappy showdown

Toulouse clinched their 18th French championship title last night, edging Montpellier 15-10 in a hard-fought Top 14 final at the Stade de France in Paris.

While the result shocked no one, the manner in which it was achieved did, with the south-west France superteam were forced to come from behind, taking the lead for the first time only in the 71st minute.

Toulouse fly-half David Skrela missed 15 points with the boot, while the star-studded side were also guilty of countless handling errors.

Montpellier led 7-3 at half-time through to a try from Fijian winger Timoci Nagusa, the only touchdown of a scrappy match.

In the end the greater experience of Guy Novs' side told as Montpellier's young team were forced into conceding a number of penalties under unrelenting pressure.

Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere's Super 15, ACT Brumbies ambushed the title-chasing Queensland Reds with a 22-14 victory in Brisbane yesterday, rubbing salt into the wound with a last-second penalty that denied their hosts a bonus point. The Reds, clearly jaded after their draining victory over the Canterbury Crusaders last weekend, remained top of the overall standings ahead of South Africa's Stormers with two games to go but with their lead cut to one point.

The Brumbies were inspired by fly-half Matt Giteau.