Stade Toulousain scrum-half Byron Kelleher has promised a re-run of his infamous bus-top Haka should his team go all the way and win this season’s Heineken Cup.

The former All Black scrum-half marked the culmination of a superb debut season in 2007/8 by giving club supporters a half-naked demonstration of the famous Maori welcome while Stade Toulousain toured the city with the Brennus Bouclier – the Top 14 trophy.

It was a memorable highlight in a season jam-packed with peaks – Kelleher was also voted Top 14’s Player of the Year – but there was also one notable low point as Stade lost the final of the Heineken Cup to Munster.

Heineken Cup Pools & Fixtures

Last season they went out even more disappointingly at the quarter-final stage after a frustrating away loss at Cardiff Blues, so this weekend’s home clash with Stade Francais is another step along the road to perdition.

Certainly Kelleher believes that Stade Toulousain, Europe’s most successful club side, are on target for further.

“It’s all about timing,” the former international star told frenchrugbyclub.com. “The season is very difficult in Europe, especially here in France, because of the number of games you’ve got to play, but I think the balance within our team – with all the internationals coming back – has put us at a good level.

“Those players that have needed extra work have been doing it in training, while others have been having a bit of a rest, so Guy Noves and the coaching staff have been able to balance the amount of game time and fatigue levels within the squad. So, collectively I think we’re a good point,” added the 33-year-old.

Kelleher himself has been a regular starter of late – due to injuries to Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and Frederic Michalak – but he thinks that has done him a favour in helping find his best form after a difficult first half to the season. There was the now infamous drink-drive incident which sidelined him through injury for several weeks, and Stade’s own indifferent form has also been overcome of late.

Their gritty home win against Racing Metro 92 last weekend drew loud plaudits from Noves, and there was also the little matter of their stunning 0-29 away victory against Stade Francais – tomorrow’s opponents – although both teams have played down the significance of that result.

“I feel good,” said Kelleher. “I’ve been lucky enough to play matches back-to-back and that’s important to get the rhythm. I feel good and I’m really looking forward to this match because it’s a special game.”

Special indeed. The Heineken Cup is where Europe’s top players want to be performing and a home quarter-final against the Parisian aristocrats of Stade Francais is enough to get any Toulousain excited.

The buzz around the city has been tangible all week, and Kelleher is no exception to the general feeling of anticipation.

“It’s the outside influence that help make it special – the media, the public, the franchise – and it all puts pressure on you to produce a good performance. I suppose as a professional athlete and as an individual you have to drag yourself away from that and just concentrate on what you do best and make sure your preparation for the week is directed at peaking for the game. You have to try and forget those other things that surround it,” he said.

The planning for this weekend has been meticulous, but Kelleher stressed there also has to be flexibility within the team, especially with regards to how the match could be refereed.

“It all depends on the day and you just have to read the game and the way the referee is interpreting it.  We plan for our strategies and the way we would like to play the game on the field, but obviously you have to have players on the field who can read how the game is going and also to be able to understand the way that the referee interprets the game. By doing that you can spread the message among your team-mates and try and control the game,” he reasoned.

The feisty scrum-half would dearly love to add a Heineken Cup winners medal to his bulging collection of trophies and awards.

“My heart and passion in rugby is to win,” he stressed. “I’m a competitive person and I suppose that brings out the best in me. Also, the last time Toulouse won was 2005, so it’s been some time and the efforts are there for the team to be able to win again,” he said.

The form book (and league table) certainly points to a Toulouse win, but France centre Yannick Jauzion told frenchrugbyclub.com that nothing was being taken granted, even after their recent stunning 29-0 victory against Sunday’s opponents in Paris.

“It will be a very different game because Stade Francais have changed their mentality since we beat them 29-0. They beat Clermont last weekend they are a very strong side,” he warned. “Some players have come back like Haskell and Leguizamon and Sylvain Marconnet and these are players that have leadership within the team. I think it will be more difficult this time,” added the veteran international.

Jauzion is particularly aware of the threat that Stade Francais pose in the centres, with international colleague Mathieu Bastareaud a possible match-winner for the Parisians. The two formed a superb partnership during France’s recent Grand Slam, but un Sunday he will have to front up to the 18 stone battering ram if Toulouse are to triumph.

“He’s a very strong player and very important for Paris because they play a lot around him. We know him, everyone knows about him, but he’s a difficult player to tackle because he is strong and fit. But we don’t have a special plan for Mathieu, although we will pay special attention to him. If we can stop him maybe it will be a significant part of winning the game,” he told frenchrugbyclub.com.

But Jauzion, like Noves and Kelleher, believes Stade Toulousain are peaking just at the right time of the season.

“The last month is the most important and we know that we can play our best rugby and we know that if we play our best rugby we will have the chance to win. We know it will be a very tough game against Stade Francais but it will be a good game to show us what level we are at,” he said.

Stade Toulousain starting XV: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, F Fritz, Y Jauzion, C Heymans; D Skrela, B Kelleher; B Lecouls, W Servat, JB Poux, W Servat, W Servat, B Lecouls, R Millo-Chluski, P Albacete, J Bouilhou, T Dusautoir (capt), L Picamoles
Replacements: V Lacombe, D Human, C Johnston, S Sowerby, Y Maestri, N Bezy, M Medard, G Lamboley

Stade Français: H Southwell; J Arias, M Bastareaud, M Gasnier, M Bergamasco; L Beauxis, N Oelschig; R Roncero (capt), D Szarzewski, S Marconnet, T Palmer, P Pape, A Burban, P Rabadan, J Leguizamon
Replacements: B Kayser, R Slimani, R Gerber, A Marchois, S Taylor, B Tardy, I Mieres, G Messina

Referee: Alan Lewis (Ire)