Novès’ Toulouse eye fourth Heineken Cup crown in Paris

(Photo: Christophe Cussat-Blanc)

To mark the fifteenth anniversary of the European Cup, an ERC panel unanimously voted Guy Novès as the greatest coach in the history of the competition.

The decision will have come as a surprise to few who have followed European rugby for the last couple of decades and the eccentric Toulouse coach will be hoping that he and his team will be celebrating a fourth victory this evening.

Toulouse already stand alone as the only three time winners, but they will be desperate to regain a crown that they have not won in five years.

For the third time they will meet French opposition in the final, and if past performances are anything to go by, the omens are looking good for Novès’ side.

Cédric Heymans should appear in a match day squad for an unbelievable sixth final, with the opportunity to win a fourth title.

Yannick Jauzion, Jean Bouilhou Jean-Baptiste Poux and William Servat will all appear in their fifth finals.

Vincent Clerc will also be hoping to add to his record try tally, having missed Toulouse’s last final appearance with a knee ligament injury.

But what of their opponents? Can Biarritz deny Toulouse yet another title?

If they are to do so, one would expect that it will be largely thanks to two men. In the semi final against Munster, Dmitri Yachvili kicked all of the Basque side’s points as well as brilliantly controlling his imperious set of forwards.

Standing out in the pack, Biarritz’s other key player today will be Imanol Harinordoquy, probably the standout number eight in the game at the moment. The Basque warrior soldiered on despite a broken nose and broken ribs in the semi final, only leaving the field once his side had taken the lead.

So how can Biarritz win a first ever European Cup? In the semi finals both teams used their dominance up front, particularly at scrum time, as the foundation for their victories.

Biarritz will be sweating over the form of Fabien Barcella, the most destructive loosehead in the tournament prior to injury in February.

For Toulouse the worry will be that four big games in as many weeks will have taken its toll, especially given the way they suffered in the scrum last Friday against Perpignan.

The Basque underdogs will also look to attack an occasionally fragile Toulouse lineout, and in Harinordoquy, they have the perfect man for the job.

Jauzion and Florian Fritz will look to wreak havoc in midfield, where Biarritz look vulnerable without Damien Traille.

So the Basque side will have to gain the upper hand up front and starve the Toulouse backs of possession.

It sounds simple enough, but against a team of Toulouse’s calibre, expect a tense physical battle, with Toulouse proving to be just too strong.