Toulouse have shown their unquestionable pedigree in the Heineken Cup - yet again - and are already looking like odds on favourites to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament as outright Pool winners.
But Leicester Tigers kept their own hopes of a quarter-final place alive and the pressure on Toulouse after their much-needed bonus point victory over Benetton Treviso at Welford Road.
Toulouse, the four-times Heineken Cup champions, recorded a third win on the trot in their group with a comfortable 30-14 bonus point win over reigning Pro12 champions the Ospreys at Stade Ernest Wallon.
The French giants, the most successful side in the history of European club rugby's premier competition, had never faced the Ospreys in Europe before last weekend's win and the Welsh side will want to restore some pride in the second leg of the double-header at the Liberty Stadium.
The Ospreys hopes of qualifying for the lucrative knock-out stages of the tournament are over and the champions of the Pro12 have not reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals since 2010.
Meanwhile former double Heineken Cup winners Leicester's victory over the Pro12 side from Italy, who have never qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, brought the Premiership outfit to within three points of the French side.
The former champions, who last won the Heineken Cup a decade ago in 2002, recorded a 33-25 victory over Treviso with Matt Smith getting their victory-sealing fifth try but Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill has warned them that their trip to Italy will be a tough test of their qualification ambitions and that they must do better.
