Kelleher had been in
scintillating form this season until his injury – he is still the fourth
highest try-scorer in Top 14 (with seven) despite missing the last eight
weeks – and his impact in France was underlined when he was voted the
league’s Player of the Year in his debut season (2007/8).
The former All Black is determined to
make the Cardiff clash after being part of the Stade Toulousain side which
lost to Munster in last year’s final.
Noves has tried to shuffle his pack
throughout this season in an effort to keep key players fresh for its
climax, and even Sunday’s titanic home fixture against Stade Francais is
playing second fiddle to his search for more European glory.
“We know that the matches against Stade
Francais are very difficult,” he admitted as he looked forward to the
weekend game. “They will certainly come to the Stade Municipal with a
spirit of revenge, but losing against Paris will not affect our
qualification for the semi-finals of the (Top 14) championship, while defeat
against Cardiff would put an end to our European campaign,” he told
L’Equipe.
Stade Toulousain won the Paris fixture
26-13 in October, ending Stade Francais’ nine-match winning streak in the
process, but Noves said he was anticipating a tight encounter as the
league’s best defence (ST) fronts up to the division’s best attack (SF) on
Sunday.
The wizened coach said he had “great
respect” for what Stade Francais had achieved in recent years – Top 14
champions in 1998, 200, 2003, 2004 and 2007 – and even admitted they had
“challenged our supremacy”. But he also noted Stade Francais’ lack of a
Heineken Cup title and reiterated his own desire to add to his club’s three
victories – in 1996, 2003 and 2005.
And the focus on further Heineken Cup glory was underlined by Fabien Pelous,
who also admitted Sunday’s fixture would have little bearing on the
end-of-season shake up.
“There will be less tension because it
is a first phase match of the championship and there is nothing really at
stake,” he said. “Speaking personally, I want to play down the importance of
this meeting,” he told Rugbyrama. “But each team has a high level of
pride and therefore wants to win. But we will first try to make a good match
to put us in the best conditions for the quarter-finals. Beyond the result
the goal is find our rugby. Victory would then be a logical outcome.”
Asked if the match was therefore
basically just a dress rehearsal for the Heineken Cup, he replied: “Yes…
frankly we are in a good position in the championship and we won’t
jeopardize our chances to participate in a semi-final (of Top 14).”
