Heineken Cup Final preview: Biarritz v Toulouse
The famous Stade de France will host the 15th Heineken Cup Final on Saturday afternoon, and rather fittingly, it will be contested between two French sides.
Three-time European champions Toulouse head into their sixth final as favourites; while Biarritz will be the overwhelming underdogs.
Biarritz’s form in the Top 14 has been sketchy throughout the season – and this is the main reason many people have prematurely written them off. With 14 defeats to their name from 26 league matches, the Basque city club have looked anything but potential European champions on the evidence of their domestic form.
However, it’s in Europe where it’s mattered most for them this season. And it’s in Europe where Jean-Michel Gonzalez’s men have been far more efficient, commanding and ruthless.
The prospect of beating the Heineken Cup’s most successful team is a daunting one for Biarritz; but having dispatched of Munster in the semi-finals, there’s no reason why they should enter this weekend’s final without hope.
News that influential No 8, Imanol Harinordoquy, will be fit to play is a huge boost for the club. The 30-year-old played through the pain barrier in the semi-final with a broken nose and a rib injury, but is now back to full health and ready to thwart the attacking threat of Toulouse. However, the club’s centre Damien Traille will not feature after failing to recover from a fractured arm in time.
Meanwhile, Biarritz’s formidable opponents will welcome back Byron Kelleher and Thierry Dusautoir for their European Cup final showdown in Paris.
Toulouse captain, Dusautoir, can finally land his hands on the prestigious trophy after missing out with Biarritz in 2006 and then again with his current club in 2008. With no Munster in sight this Saturday afternoon, it could well be a case of third time lucky for the 28-year-old flanker.
After their surprise 21-13 defeat against Perpignan in the Top 14 play-off semi-finals last Friday, Toulouse will be desperate to secure European rugby’s most coveted trophy to make up for that bitter disappointment.
Judging by the way they dispatched of Stade Français and then Leinster in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively, they hardly need any extra-incentive to tear teams apart. If they play to their strengths then Guy Novès side could have their name etched on the trophy by the half-time whistle.
It’s the third time that the Heineken Cup Final will be an all-French affair, with Toulouse coming out on top on both occasions in 2003 and then again in 2005. A hat-trick seems the most likely outcome, although the unpredictability factor must be taken into consideration in a game of this magnitude.
With many expecting the match to come down to who can kick the best, it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing encounter. But with over 80,000 enthusiastic, colourful and vocal supporters making their way up to the capital from the south, along with the usual dramatic nature of a Heineken Cup Final, this Saturday’s showpiece still promises to captivate audiences across Europe.
Prediction: Toulouse victory.
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