Jonny Wilkinson helps Toulon win European Cup

Toulon were crowned champions of Europe for the first time on Saturday when, aided by the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, they came from behind to beat Clermont Auvergne 16-15 in an all-French Heineken Cup final.

Outplayed for 60 minutes and seemingly out of the game after Clermont scored two tries in five blistering second-half minutes, big-spending Toulon stunned their rivals with a Delon Armitage try and a conversion by Wilkinson, playing in his first European final.

Ten years after kicking England to World Cup glory, Wilkinson collected the trophy at the Aviva Stadium following the conclusion of Toulon’s second Heineken Cup campaign.

“Those guys are the best. They were dubbed mercenaries when they arrived here. They were never mercenaries,” coach Bernard Laporte said in a television interview of his starting 15, just four of whom were Frenchmen.

All the drama was saved for the second half and a tentative start to the game came as no surprise, given three points separated the teams in their two domestic clashes this year.

Clermont scrumhalf Morgan Parra exchanged penalties with Wilkinson in the first 12 minutes.

A tight game seemed to suit Toulon and the trusty boot of Wilkinson, with Clermont’s backline needing 20 minutes to spark into life.