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Defending champions Toulon will put their crown on the line this weekend when they meet Irish contenders Leinster in the semi-finals of the European Rugby Champions Cup, while English champions Saracens will take on Clermont.
The winners will meet in the final on May 2 at Twickenham.
Toulon, who won their second straight championship last year when they beat Saracens 23-6 behind the boot of retired English legend Jonny Wilkinson, go into Sunday’s tie in Marseille as firm favourites.
The team are coached by Bernard Laporte, who guided France from 1999 to 2007 and reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2003 and 2007 before returning to club coaching in 2011 at Toulon. And they come into the match at the summit of the Top 14 table and unbeaten in Euro knockout competition since 2012 when they lost to Biarritz in the second-tier European Challenge Cup final.
Leinster, winners of the championship in 2011 and 2012, have had a modest domestic season to date and sit fifth in Pro12, but clearly know how to turn it up a notch in Europe.
Leinster’s New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth knows the match will likely be won or lost in the battle between the forwards – and that promises a super-heavyweight clash with the Toulon pack weighing in at around 895kg (1,973lbs).
“We are going down to their patch and they are probably the best team in the world at the moment with all their superstars,” the 31-year-old said.
“It’s going to be a hell of a task but we will give it every shot.
“You’ve got to make your first-up shots, first-up tackles, because they are big, big men. They are going to run at you and if you don’t make your first-up shots they are going to get in behind you and get momentum.
“Then when we’ve got the ball we’ve got to respect it and look after it. Try and move them around the pitch because they are a big unit. If we do those two things well then we are going to give ourselves an opportunity,” added Gopperth.
Toulon, who now employ Wilkinson as a coach, will be looking for a big performance from prop Alexandre Menini who faces a key duel with Irish front-row Mike Ross.
“A match of this level and this intensity is never boring,” Menini told epcrugby.com.
“This is very important for the club and the players. Mike Ross is a pillar of their pack with a variety of skills.
“He is a great player, and we don’t necessarily want to mess with him,” added Menini.
Clermont are the nearly men of French rugby, having finished runners-up 10 times in a row before finally landing the domestic crown in 2010, and they also lost the 2013 European final against Toulon, 16-15.
They currently sit just behind the champions in the Top 14 standings as the teams head towards another collision course, either domestically or in Europe, but they will have the advantage of strong support on Saturday at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, the home of Ligue 1 football club Saint-Etienne.
Saracens, currently second in the English Premiership and six points behind Northampton, will have their own word to say and can lean on their European experience, including reaching the final last season before falling to Laporte’s men.
Clermont centre Jonathan Davies says he is relishing the chance of a high-octane knockout match after the Welsh centre moved from Pro12 side Scarlets to France this season.
“In the past I have been sat at home watching matches like the quarter and semi-finals wishing I was a part of them. I wanted to be a part of games like these and that’s why I moved to Clermont – it’s all about being involved in the big games at the business end of the season,” Davies said.
“The atmosphere at the quarter-final [a 37-5 win over Northampton] was one of the best I have ever experienced. I didn’t know that 17,000 people could make that much noise? It was very special.
“There should be even more of our fans in Saint-Etienne and that will be good for us. The way the home crowd gets behind their team here in France makes it a real rallying call – they’re outstanding in the way they support us,” Davies added.


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European Rugby Champions Cup

France the battleground for Champions Cup semis

Clermont centre Jonathan Davies, seen here in action for Wales during the 2015 Six Nations, is relishing Saturday’s Euro semi-final against Saracens. “I wanted to be a part of games like these and that’s why I moved to Clermont,” he says. Photo: Reuters

Leinster’s New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth (left) expects Sunday’s match against Toulon to be won or lost in a battle of the forwards. Photo: Reuters

Jonny Wilkinson hoists the 2013 European Rugby Champions Cup with his Toulon team-mates and now hopes to win it again as a coach with the French club. Photo: AP

Sport

Rugby

Top 14 front-runners Toulon and Clermont ‘on course’ for European title showdown


Defending champions Toulon will put their crown on the line this weekend when they meet Irish contenders Leinster in the semi-finals of the European Rugby Champions Cup, while English champions Saracens will taken on Clermont.


France the battleground for Champions Cup semis

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Top 14 front-runners Toulon and Clermont ‘on course’ for European title showdown

Top 14 front-runners Toulon and Clermont ‘on course’ for European title showdown