Antoine Dupont lit up the Kingspan Stadium as Toulouse ran in seven tries in a Champions Cup rout of Ulster.
The diminutive half-back will soon take a leave of absence from his club and miss the Six Nations in order to acclimatise to Sevens duty as he hopes to secure Olympic gold in Paris.
But he had business to attend to in Belfast and demonstrated how much he will be missed by rugby fans as he delivered a tour de force, scoring two tries and assisting two more.
The same player broke Ulster hearts at the venue two years ago in the round of 16; Dan McFarland's men knew what was coming, they simply couldn't stop it.
His second try seven minutes into the second half ended the game as a contest and try as they might, Ulster couldn’t secure a try bonus.
Hooker Peato Mauvaka also grabbed a brace, while Mattis Lebel, Alexandre Roumat and Emmanuel Meafou crossed for tries.
The loss leaves Ulster on five points in Pool 2 ahead of next weekend’s trip to Harlequins, who secured a bonus point win at Cardiff this evening.
Racing 92 play second-placed Bath tomorrow, while Toulouse remain top with maximum points and qualification to the knock-out stage assured.
Both sides looked determined to play from the early exchanges, backs and forwards seeking to keep the ball alive at every opportunity in front of a sold-out Ravenhill Stadium.
Steven Kitshoff and Iain Henderson made themselves available to carry the ball, making hard yards for the hosts, while Dupont's snappy service gave Toulouse’s backs time to run.
But the French side were able to edge the kicking battle and that ultimately led to a healthy half-time lead.
Two Billy Burns' up and unders went nowhere and Mike Lowry and Jacob Stockdale both had kicks blocked down.
An Ulster scrum infringement led to the opening score in the tenth minute and it was too easy when it came.
After taking a clean lineout, the ball came quickly to Thomas Ramos with the out-half cross-kicking for Lebel (above), who caught it on the run with Lowry out of position to make a tackle attempt.
Ramos converted from the corner but John Cooney soon opened the Ulster account with a penalty when Toulouse were too slow to roll away from a breakdown on the 22.
However, Ramos cancelled that out with a penalty of his own after Sean Reffell went offside close to the line.
They would have been further ahead but for a superb turnover by Nick Timoney and a Stockdale tackle that pushed Juan Cruz Mallia into touch.
The hosts, who had lost to Bath and beaten Racing 92 in their opening games, applied some pressure of their own but Cooney opted for a low-percentage drop-goal attempt and allowed Toulouse to clear.
The visitors then struck for two tries in the last 10 minutes of the half.
Francois Cros combined with Dupont and Mauvaka to break the Ulster line and when they went offside in the scramble, the hooker was able to finish off a lineout maul move to put some distance between the sides.
Ulster got themselves into trouble they failed to deal with a Ramos chip in midfield; Lowry hit Cooney with an unsympathetic pass before Stockdale got blocked down as he tried to clean up the mess.
From the goalline dropout that followed, Anthony Jelonch found space to set Mauvaka free and he had Dupont running in trademark support line. The scrum-half dived over close the posts and Ramos’ kick put them 22-3 up.
However, Ulster needed and got a lifeline with the clock in the red.
Sustained pressure led to a penalty five metres out and despite the initial tap-and-go maul being stopped short, Tom Stewart’s strength saw him bash his way through.
Cooney’s kick made it 22-10 at the break.
But Ulster couldn't build on that and despite forcing three errors from the Top14 champions, found themselves conceding just seven minutes after the resumption.
James Hume pushed Lebel as he attempted to retrieve a ball to take a quick lineout and referee Matthew Carley decided that was enough to warrant a penalty.
Moments later Cros came up with a big steal and Blair Kinghorn cut through the midfield before passing to Dupont for another run-in.
The former World Rugby Player of the Year turned provider as the five-time winners plundered two tries in a four-minute spell.
Breaking off a rolling maul, Dupont slipped the ball inside for Mauvaka (above) to work his way over and the crowd began to filter out.
After Ulster lost 70 yards from a turnover in the opposition 22, they failed to clear the ball and were made to regret it.
Dupont sized up Stuart McCloskey in midfield and darted for the corner before Lebel cut inside and offloaded to Roumat (below), who ran in unopposed.
The conversion made it 41-10. The result was decided but Ulster fought for a try-bonus.
They grabbed a second when a tap-and-go penalty move saw replacement Will Addison dive over in the corner for a try that was converted by Nathan Doak.
Jake Flannery then broke the line and set up Timoney for a third try but Ulster’s blew their best chance at a fourth when they overthrew at a lineout close to the Toulouse line and the visitors cleared their lines.
They even had the last say with Meafou crashing over under the posts to complete a miserable night for Ulster, who had come in off the back of three wins in a row.
Ulster: Mike Lowry; Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Steven Kitshoff, Tom Stewart, Tom O'Toole; Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson (capt); Dave Ewers, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Marty Moore, Al O'Connor, Matty Rea, Nathan Doak, Luke Marshall, Will Addison.
Toulouse: Blair Kinghorn; Juan Cruz Mallia, Dimitri Delibes, Pita Ahki, Matthis Lebel; Thomas Ramos, Antoine Dupont (capt); Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Dorian Aldegheri; Richie Arnold, Emmanuel Meafou; François Cros, Anthony Jelonch, Alexandre Roumat
Replacements: Julien Marchand, David Ainu'u, Nepo Laulala, Joshua Brennan, Jack Willis, Paul Graou, Santiago Chocobares, Setareki Bituniyata
Referee: Matthew Carley (ENG)
