HEINEKEN CUP NEWS:SATURDAY'S HEINEKEN Cup final doesn't carry the same resonance outside France. It's not a reflection on the teams – three-time champions Toulouse and Biarritz, who will square up at the Stade de France on Saturday evening – but more a suspicion it could be a one-sided affair.
The tournament rarely does anaemic matches. However, form and the evidence of the respective semi-finals make Toulouse difficult to oppose.
If Damien Traille (broken arm) and Imanol Harinordoquy (broken nose and damaged ribs) fail to recover to bolster Biarritz, then the Basque country team’s chances will recede appreciably. Traille missed the semi-final win over Munster and is rated the more doubtful.
Harinordoquy played in that match, complete with special mask to protect his nose, before being forced off with rib problems.
Biarritz appeared rudderless behind the scrum without Traille, so central to their victory in the quarter-final over the Ospreys, but in the absence of Harinordoquy it would strip the team of its heartbeat, its soul. He plans on being there for a crack at a team he has likened to the All Blacks.
“Toulouse are a model of consistency,” the international number eight said this week. “In terms of squad, structure and results, Toulouse are certainly the number one club in France, and probably Europe as well. I compare them slightly to the All Blacks, especially when you see their three-quarter play and how fast they react on the counter-attack.
“On paper they are the favourites, and they are a team that we don’t often beat, but I believe we can beat them. And I am like most children: I always want what I don’t have. It’s so hard to get to a Heineken Cup final and winning it would be so dear to me.
“But not just for me of course, but also for the club’s history and for all our supporters. We experienced the joy of winning the French Championship in 2005 and 2006 and we really want to share that feeling again with all the Biarritz fans.”
Harinordoquy pointed to a poignantly painful memory that will galvanise the team. “The 2006 Heineken Cup final (Biarritz lost to Munster 23-19) is a very bitter memory. I didn’t even want the runners-up medal. What drove me mad was the feeling that we were not ready for the event.
“The Millennium Stadium was heaving with 40-50,000 Irish supporters and I think our players went to pieces. This time we won’t make the same mistakes. When you think back to 2006, it was logical that we reached the final considering our form that season. Yet on the day, even though we had the best team on the field, we lost in Cardiff.
“This year I really believe in what we are doing. We are not favourites, but I really think we stand a chance. These are games that are won through your desire and group solidarity.
“I relish the prospect of playing against some of my international team-mates – it will give me a lot of extra motivation. You always want to prove you are better than the player in front of you.”
While the Stade de France prepares for an all-French affair at the weekend, ERC officially announced yesterday that the Millennium Stadium (2010-2011) and Twickenham (2011-2012) would host the next Heineken Cup finals. The Cardiff final will take place on the weekend of May 21st/22nd, 2011, while the London decider is scheduled for the weekend of May 19th/20th, 2012.
The decision comes as a huge disappointment to the IRFU, who had hoped the Aviva Stadium would be chosen.
Whatever about Twickenham (for a fourth occasion) hosting the 2012 final, which ties in with London staging the Olympics that year, the choice of Cardiff for a sixth final in 16 years – they have had only one finalist, Cardiff in the inaugural tournament – will be especially disappointing for Irish fans.
