It wasn't the results they wanted but both teams can hold their heads high after narrowly falling short of making the Champions Cup finalfinal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 25 May, and by the final whistle they will have won 10 of the 28 editions between them.
For their part on Sunday here in Toulouse, Quins had enough chances in the third quarter to at least double the two tries they scored through Cadan Murley and Tyrone Green during that period – the second of them an archetypal counter-attack begun bykeeping the ball in play on one foot, pirouetting like a ballet dancer – as they reduced the home side’s half-time lead of 31-12 to just five points.
In a wider sense, rugby continues to be onto a great thing with these weekends – as are purveyors of hotels and airlines, cashing in at high prices.