Toulouse v Biarritz (Heineken Cup final, Stade de France, 5pm)
The hopes of an Irish invasion of Paris were crushed earlier this month when Leinster and Munster came up short against Toulouse and Biarritz respectively. But still, it’s the climax of the club rugby season and we have to give it a bit of a splash, however grudgingly.
There’ll be no throng of red-clad denizens O’Connell Street in Limerick and no toasting a Heino or three in Kiely’s of Donnybrook. This one’s all about baguettes and garlic.
So where do we start? Well, to put it bluntly it’s Toulouse’s to lose. Guy Noves’s side were awesome up front against Leinster, and made light of the difficult conditions with a couple of trademark back-line moves to effectively wrap it up in the space of four second half minutes.
It was a perfect pincer approach: grind it out in the forwards before unleashing the quality in the backs, and Noves has made no secret of the fact that his side will be aiming for a similarly simple game-plan on Saturday afternoon.
There’s no doubt that Noves has targeted this competition at the expense of the French championship, with captain Thierry Dusautoir and the bruising scrum half Byron Kelleher both rested (Dusautoir played as a replacement) in last weekend’s Top 14 semi-final defeat to Perpignan.
Biarritz, who finished in mid-table in their domestic competition, also dominated Munster up front but the latter’s subsequent non-performance against Leinster – regardless of the changes in personnel – portrays them in a different light and the fact that Munster, in the midst of their worst run in seven years, saw the game as an opportunity lost should tell you all you need to know about the disparity between the finalists.
Imanol Harinordoquy’s fitness is a massive boost and Biarritz’s front row should put up more resistance than Leinster could muster, but Damien Traille’s absence will again be felt and Karmichael Hunt – he of the porn star name and stubble, a former rugby league player en route to Aussie Rules – is no replacement.
Teams:
Toulouse: To be confirmed.
Biarritz: To be confirmed.
Odds:
Toulouse 1/3 Biarritz 9/4 Draw 20/1
Prediction:
The head-to-heads this season have gone with home advantage, with Toulouse the winners by 20 points in October before Biarritz enjoyed a 26-10 win in San Sebastian two months ago. As five-time Heineken Cup finalists and three-time champions, Toulouse have the pedigree. Biarritz, on the other hand, have never won this competition and have three English players in Iain Balshaw, Ayoola Erinle and Magnus Lund. ‘Nuff said. Toulouse by 12.
Shane Breslin
