AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP FINAL:ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL Steffon Armitage has hailed the influence of former France coach Bernard Laporte on Amlin Challenge Cup finalists Toulon.
Armitage, Jonny Wilkinson and company will aim to end Toulon’s 20-year wait for a major trophy when they tackle Biarritz at the Twickenham Stoop tonight.
“Bernard has brought his own distinctive game plan with him,” former London Irish flanker Armitage said. “And although Toulon are regarded as big spenders, he also makes sure that everyone keeps their feet on the ground and everyone is equal.
“He has given players the opportunity to come out of their shells and play their own kind of rugby, while also keeping to his game plan which works pretty well for everyone.
“We are not scared of anyone. On our day we have got the players to win games, so the only important thing to Toulon was that we were there for the final and not who we are playing.”
While Toulon remain in French Top 14 title contention, Biarritz can only qualify for next season’s Heineken Cup if they win the Amlin trophy, having finished outside the league’s leading six positions.
They do, though, have considerable experience of top-flight European competition, finishing as Heineken Cup runners-up in 2006 and 2010.
“It’s a game with a double goal for us,” Biarritz and France backrow star Imanol Harinordoquy said. “A victory would give us a new title and a ticket for the Heineken Cup next season.
“It would a great reward for our squad, which has suffered this season. It’s a huge game with a huge amount at stake, and we are going to work as hard as we can to win it.
“On the one hand there is a positive pressure in that we could win the title, and on the other hand there is a negative pressure because we are playing for the future of Biarritz Olympique.”
Inconsistency has been a huge problem for Biarritz this term, and Harinordoquy added: “That’s the way it is with Biarritz – we produce the worst and the best. Right now, it seems that we are closer to our best, and that is great.”
Biarritz have won six of their last eight games – a sequence in stark contrast to dismal early-season form – and they will arrive in London keen to continue that revival.
“For the last few weeks we have been training with smiles on our faces, and that is making the difference,” captain Harinordoquy said. “We are working in an enthusiastic, yet serious, atmosphere.
“Friday night is a final. It’s a one-off game and anything can happen.”
BIARRITZ: I Balshaw; T Ngwenya, J Barraque, D Traille, D Haylett-Petty; J Peyrelongue, D Yachvili; Y Watremez, A Heguy, E Van Staden, J Thion, P Taele, W Lauret, B Guyot, I Harinordoquy (capt). Replacements: B August, S Marconnet, F Gomez Kodela, E Lund, T Gray, M Bosch, C Gimenez, I Bolakoro.
TOULON: B Lapeyre; A Palisson, M Bastareaud, M Giteau, D Smith; J Wilkinson, S Tillous-Borde; E Lewis-Roberts, S Bruno, C Hayman, C Samson, K Chesney, P Gunther, S Armitage, J van Niekerk (capt). Replacements: J Orioli, L Emmanuelli, D Kubriashvili, J El Abd, G Messina, D Schofield, F Cibray, J Suta.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England). Assistant referees: Dave Pearson and J P Doyle (both England).
