Suddenly, Harlequins were within five. Evans and Luke Northmore stifled Toulouse with jackal turnovers out wide, setting up a captivating final-quarter shoot-out. Just as they were eying a victory for the ages, Harlequins blinked again.
A yellow card for Jack Walker, following a clumsy clear-out on Dupont, arrived with 14 minutes to go. Both Mola and Dupont acknowledged it as a critical turning point. Andrew Brace and his television match official (TMO) Olly Hodges deliberated on the collision as a Who Wants to be a Millionaire-style heartbeat played over the stadium speakers, which cannot have been helpful. They could not ask the audience, who were jeering vociferiously.
Mallía’s try followed immediately and Harlequins were finally snuffed out after Brace reversed a penalty when Joe Marler cuffed Thomas Ramos. At the final whistle, as Harlequins crossed the touchline and thanked their fans, the departing Esterhuizen cut a disconsolate figure. He and Will Collier, a fantastic tighthead prop, will take some replacing. All they can do now, as Toulouse look forward to a mouth-watering revenge mission against Leinster, is channel pride and dejection into the race for a top-four spot in the Premiership.
Match details
Scoring: 5-0 Lebel try, 5-5 Smith try, 5-7 Smith conversion, 10-7 Mauvaka try, 12-7 Kinghorn conversion, 12-12 Evans try, 17-12 Flament try, 22-12 Dupont try, 24-12 Kinghorn conversion, 29-12 Dupont try, 31-12 Kinghorn conversion, 31-17 Murley try, 31-19 Smith conversion, 31-24 Green try, 31-26 Smith conversion, 36-26 Mallía try, 38-26 Ramos conversion
Toulouse: B Kinghorn; J Cruz Mallia, P Costes (S Chocobares, 70), P Ahki, M Lebel (T Ramos, 54); R Ntamack, A Dupont (c); C Baille (R Neti, 61), P Mauvaka (J Marchand, 51), D Aldegheri J Merkler, 61), T Flament, E Meafou (R Arnold, 56), F Cros, J Willis (M Castro-Ferreira, 72), A Rouma
Replacement not used: P Graou
Harlequins: T Green; L Lynagh (S Riley, 71), L Northmore (O Beard, 76), A Esterhuizen, C Murley; M Smith, D Care (W Porter, 63); F Baxter, J Walker (J Evans, 78), W Collier (S Kerrod, 63), I Herbst (G Hammond, 72), S Lewies (c), C Cunningham-South, W Evans (J Chisholm, 68), A Dombrandt
Yellow card: Walker 66
Attendance: 32,494
