Heineken Cup – Stade
Francais set for record crowd; Toulouse look to extend
winning run
03 December 2008
France’s big guns -
Toulouse and Stade Francais - are both at home in the
Heineken Cup, looking to continue their 100 per cent winning
starts with games against Newport Gwent Dragons and
Harlequins respectively.
The latter Pool four
clash is already certain to enter the record books with the
ambitious Paris club hosting a European game at the Stade de
France for the first time. More than 65,000 tickets have
already been sold, guaranteeing it eclipses the current
Heineken Cup record attendance of 44,112 – also set by Stade
when they hosted Sale at the Parc des Princes in 2006/7.
Flamboyant president Max
Guazzini is laying on Moulin Rouge dancers, a medieval joust
and cheerleaders for the huge crowd, with 20,000 pink flags
also being given away to ensure the carnival atmosphere.
If it is anything like
the colour-drenched Top 14 play-off between Toulouse and
Clermont then it will be an occasion to savour for players
and fans alike.
Quins director of rugby
Dean Richards is certainly looking forward to the “fantastic
occasion” but said his players would be focused on following
up earlier victories against Ulster and the Scarlets.
“We’re always looking at
teams in France, so from that point of view we have seen a
few Stade Francais games and know what they are about. They
are very strong across the board, so it’s difficult to say
they have weaknesses here or there,” he said.
Stade Francais have
likewise chalked up two wins and are looking to book their
place for the quarter-finals as they continue their quest
for a maiden Heineken Cup triumph.
The twice runners-up (in
2001 and 2005) have returned to form after a three-match
losing streak in Top 14 and captain Sergio Parisse said they
had only victory on their minds.
“Every year we play to
win. We have not been able to win this tournament yet, but
at the start of every season we always intend to put in 100
per cent,” he said.
The stats back up a
Stade Francais win, with the Paris club holding a 4-0 record
against Quins and a 17-match home winning streak. Indeed,
they have lost just once in 32 home European matches.
Toulouse
go into their home tie with the Dragons on the back of an
eight-match winning streak in Top 14, and having already
beaten both Bath and Glasgow in Pool five.
They will definitely be
without half-back pairing David Skrela and Jean-Baptiste
Elissalde, but that still leaves Byron Kelleher and Freddie
Michalak – a formidable duo in their own right.
Michalak is beginning to find his feet after
his recent return from South Africa, while Kelleher is the
current Top 14 Player of the Year.
After missing out to
Munster in last year’s final the European giants are
determined to make amends this year and lift their fourth
Heineken Cup trophy.
The other two French
sides in action on Saturday are Castres – who travel
to Leinster in Pool two – and Perpignan – who are
away to the Leicester Tigers. All Blacks fly-halve Dan
Carter joins up with the Catalans this week, but too late to
be considered for the match at Welford Road.
Elsewhere, Clermont’s
European ambitions will be tested to the full when they
entertain reigning champions Munster on Sunday afternoon.
The French side suffered
a major blow when they lost their opening home game to Sale,
but beat Montauban away to get back on track, and will be
hoping for a repeat of last year’s 26-19 win against
Munster.
International wing
Julien Malzieu said he was relishing the opportunity to
front up to the Irish side again.
“It may or may not help
to have played them last year because each season is
different, but at least the level of rugby will be superb
and that’s what I was looking for when I started to play
rugby,” he said.
“I want to play the best
teams in the world and Munster are currently one of them.
All we ask is to play exciting games – and I think we are in
for a great one,” he added.
The Heineken Cup action
starts on Friday evening with Montauban away to Sale
Sharks in Pool one and Biarritz away to Cardiff Blues
in Pool six. Both look testing ties, with Montauban
desperate to register their first win in the tournament
after two narrow defeats so far.
Biarritz, who have hit a
rut in Top 14, also know they are in for a tough evening as
they travel to one of only two sides who have registered
maximum points so far. But the 2006 finalists will be hoping
to set aside their domestic worries as they take on Ben
Blair and colleagues.
Seven French sides will
also be in action in the European Challenge Cup, with six of
those playing at home and the seventh (Toulon) still not
having to leave the country as they travel to Montpellier.
That match, in Pool 2 on
Thursday evening, is remarkably the first of three
consecutive clashes between the two sides as they play home
and away and then match up again in Top 14 the following
week.
French sides have had
poor results in the ECC so far this season, with many opting
to rest key players for valuable league matches ahead. But
this all-French encounter is bound to be a tasty match with
Toulon’s under-pressure coach Tana Umaga struggling to
retain his president’s favour.
The arrival this week of
Jake White for a three-week ‘consultancy’ role will only add
further pressure.
The other enticing
encounter sees high-flying Bayonne entertain Saracens, the
club White has just left after a similar temporary advisory
role. Eddie Jones’ Guinness Premiership outfit showed the
benefit of White’s experience in their weekend win against
Worcester Warriors and will be keen to carry that on at the
Stade Jean Dauger on Saturday.
Last year’s Heineken Cup
semi-finalists are currently five points clear in Pool five,
but coach Bayonne Richard Dourthe said his players were keen
to catch up and make amends for their earlier loss to
Viadana.
“We know what to expect
and now we are focusing on that match [against Saracens] and
getting our preparations right. We want to prepare properly
to honour our team as well as our opponents,” he said.
Heineken Cup
fixtures:
Friday
Sale Sharks v
Montauban (Pool 1, 20.45)
Cardiff Blues v
Biarritz (Pool 6, 21.00)
Saturday
Leinster v Castres
(Pool 2, 14.35)
Toulouse
v Newport Gwent Dragons (Pool 5, 14.35)
Stade Francais
v Harlequins (Pool 4, 16.30)
Leicester v Perpignan
(Pool 3, 18.30)
Sunday
Clermont
v Munster (Pool 1, 16.00)
European Challenge
Cup fixtures:
Thursday
Montpellier
v Toulon (Pool 2, 20.45)
Friday
Dax
v London Irish (Pool 1, 19.00)
Brive
v El Salvador (Pool 4, 19.30)
Bourgoin
v Worcester Warriors (Pool 3, 20.30)
Saturday
Mont-de-Marsan
v Viadana (Pool 5, 15.30)
Bayonne
v Saracens (Pool 5, 20.45)
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