Extra Special Win For Brennan

Kildare man Trevor Brennan is a Heineken Cup winner for the second time in three seasons after Toulouse earned an exhaustive 18-12 extra-time final win over Stade Francais on Sunday.

Former Leinster star Brennan played all 100+ minutes of the try-less 2004/05 European decider, staged in front of 51,000 spectators at Murrayfield, putting in an outstanding display up front as France fly-half Frederic Michalak emerged as the Toulouse hero.

He kicked a penalty eight minutes into injury-time to level things up at 12-12 and send the final into extra-time for the first time, in the tenth year of the ERC’s flagship tournament.

Michalak then popped up again in the second minute of the first extra-time period to fire over his second penalty, and the 22-year-old kicked a clinching 35-metre drop goal in the second period to ensure the south of France side’s history-making third European title.

“Barnhall Bruiser” Brennan, 31, was starting his third Heineken Cup final for Toulouse and made up for the disappointment of last year’s 27-20 Twickenham defeat at the hands of Wasps, by adding to his 2003 final success (22-17 v Perpignan, Lansdowne Road).

Brennan’s good friend Gareth Thomas, who lined out in the Toulouse number 11 shirt, also became the eighth Welshman to claim a Heineken Cup winners’ medal.

The Wales captain was the sole 2005 British and Irish Lion on view.