Howley kicked towards the corner and gave chase and Poitrenaud had plenty of time to hack the ball into touch as the Wasps man closed in.

Instead he allowed the ball run over the tryline into the in-goal area hoping to touch down for a drop out.

He had the ball in his finger tips when Howley grabbed it off him to touch down and, after an agonising wait, the video referee awarded the try.

Wasps full-back Mark Van Gisbergen added the conversion to clinch a 27-20 victory and the London club’s first European Cup.

Howley, a former Wales and British Lions scrum-half, said: “The try was down to a bit of luck.

“I just wanted to get into their territory and get the position for us to try a drop goal but we had a bit of luck with the try. It has to be the biggest of my career.

“We were up against a very good side and I’m just thankful that we’ve won it.”

Wasps tackled themselves to a standstill to keep a dominant Toulouse at bay and England captain Lawrence Dallaglio, who was sin-binned for 10 minutes in the second half, admitted: “We did it on the back foot.

“Toulouse were very worthy opponents and we knew from the word go that we were in for a hell of a game.

“The way they offloaded out of the tackle put us under enormous pressure but we showed huge character and determination and we’re very proud to follow in the footsteps of Northampton, Bath and Leicester and become the fourth English side to win it.

“Rob deserves that winning try and, if he goes, what a way to go. He showed great determination to chase down his kick and it paid off.”

Wasps’ man of the match Joe Worsley said: “What an amazing year, champions, the World Cup (with England) and now this.”