Champions Cup: What happens if the Leinster v Toulouse final ends in a draw?
Split with Romain Ntamack (Toulouse) and Caelan Doris (Leinster).
The final of the Investec Champions Cup is upon us as Leinster and Toulouse remain in the quest for European glory.
Leinster are looking to catch up to their opponents by winning their fifth star while Toulouse are hoping to add another diamond to their crown and underline their status as European Rugby royalty.
It all makes for a fascinating clash and one that is more than likely to be loaded with drama. With that comes certain technicalities as to how a winner is determined.
What happens if the scores are level at full-time?
If the scores are even at full-time the game will go into extra time which is two additional playing periods of 10 minutes each.
This has only happened twice in a final of the Champions Cup, and interesting both occasions have involved Toulouse where they beat Cardiff 21-18 in the inaugural 1995/1996 season, while in the 2004/2005 campaign, they beat Stade Francais 18-12 at Murrayfield to win the title.
What happens if the scores are still level after extra-time?
There is a two-point process if a winner cannot be decided even after the two additional extra-time periods. The first determiner is total tries scored, in the event the scores are still locked up the team that scored the most tries on the day will named the winner.
HOWEVER, if the two teams scored the same number of tries then they will take part in a place-kicking competition. This has never happened in a final of the Champions Cup BUT it has happened when a winner could not be found between Munster and (surprise) Toulouse in the quarter-finals two seasons ago. The only time it happened was between Leicester Tigers and Cardiff in 2009.
How does the place-kicking competition work?
Each team must choose three kickers to take part, this cannot be a player that has been substituted or been sent off.
There will be a coin toss to determine which side of the stadium will be used for the deciding kicking competition and another to determine who starts.
Each kicker has to take two kicks from set positions on the 22 and 10-metre lines, after both teams have completed their six kicks a winner can be declared. If the teams are still tied, then it heads into a sudden-death format.