The London side needed to win to have any chance of reaching the last eight of the competition but were off colour as the French side sealed their place as group winners. An early Toulouse blitz set up a stunning score for Gareth Thomas, but Raphael Ibanez's late try took Wasps into the break 13-7 down. However, Wasps failed to build on their momentum and a lack of discipline cost them.

The English champions' final game is against Edinburgh at the Causeway next weekend but with only nine points, Wasps have no chance of qualifying as one of the two best second-placed teams.

Toulouse's football stadium was packed to the rafters with 37,000 expectant fans but it was Wasps who began on the front foot with a promising Matt Dawson break. But visiting fans had little to cheer over as Toulouse with only a deliberate Lawrence Dallaglio infringement preventing a certain try.

The former England captain was lucky to escape without a yellow card but Elissalde's kick was good and from the restart Toulouse flyhalf Freddie Michalak launched a stunning score.

His dummy sent the Wasps pack the wrong way and he sliced upfield, floating a pass out wide left. Wing Xavier Garbajosa cut back inside and fed the supporting Thomas for a spectacular try in the left corner.

The Londoners slowly began to creak through a few phases but their game was still not firing and riddled with small errors. Just before the break, however, Toulouse lost Fritz to the sin-bin and Wasps worked through a series of phases before sending over Ibanez.

Early in the second period the Fench side lost Wales captain Thomas with a knee problem but Wasps faced a more serious plight when prop Tim Payne was sinbinned for a punch. A bruising final 40 minutes saw both sides add a couple of penalties but Wasps were unable to get within six points.

In Pool Two, Cardiff Blues and Jonah Lomu are facing Heineken Cup misery after Perpignan clinched a priceless 21-3 victory at the Arms Park. The Blues' quarter-final hopes now hinge on them beating Leeds at Headingley next Sunday - but that still might not be enough. Perpignan will finish top of Pool Two if they defeat Italian minnows Calvisano in their final group game, leaving Cardiff to scrap for one of two best runner-up spots with potential rivals including Munster, Leinster and Stade Francais.

The Blues, though, will kick themselves for probably blowing a glorious chance of their first last-eight place since 2001. Everything was in their favour, including home advantage and opponents who had recorded just a solitary previous Heineken Cup victory on Welsh soil - against Neath in 1998.

But the Blues, apart from a couple of trademark Lomu thrusts, lacked a cutting edge in attack and they appeared a nervous unit - as if the prize at stake was simply too great.

Perpignan put themselves in pole position for the knockout stages with a commanding display to delight their army of travelling fans, especially in the second half when Cardiff spent almost 40 minutes pinned inside their own territory. Centre JeanPhilippe Grandclaude and substitute David Marty scored tries in each half, while goal-kicker Nicolas Laharrague recovered from a shaky start to boot three penalties and a conversion.

Cardiff 's only reply was an early penalty from out-half Nick MacLeod, who replaced the injured Nicky Robinson, and the home side could have few complaints about the losing margin. If Perpignan secure a bonus point success against Calvisano then they will be well on course for a home quarter-final but Cardiff 's fate is now out of their hands. Even if they beat Premiership basement club Leeds next week their destiny will rest on results elsewhere.

Leeds' game away to Italian side Calvisano was called off yesterday due to a frozen pitch.