VIVA LA REVOLUTION

Sadly, Ulster aren’t in action in the Heineken Cup final this weekend, and instead their place must be taken by Clermont and Toulon at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow. But it promises to be a cracking final, and one which will probably be replayed in a couple of weeks in the Top14 final as well.

Clermont have been the team of Europe this season without a doubt. They have walked over their opponents this season without mercy, putting 40+ points on their opponents nine times already, and three of those times they surpassed 60 points. Not to mention their incredible home record which now stands at sixty wins in a row.

Toulon have bought in a strong squad which boasts internationals in abundance. If anybody was going to challenge the Ultra Vulcans it would be Toulon with their wealth of stars. However they have not been tested yet in knockout rugby. Two years ago they reached the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and were promptly sent home packing by Perpignan. They are not a feared knockout side just yet.

What will work in their favour though is their underdog status. The pressure is firmly on Clermont as favourites. To be honest, the only team that can stop Clermont is Clermont. If they let the pressure get to them then they will falter at the final hurdle. If they play their normal game then they will ease to the win.

The quality that Clermont have should be enough to get them there, and they have plenty of international and knockout experience to back that up. Toulon will have to play some incredible rugby just to stay in touch with the Auvergne side and it’ll be a tough day for them if the nerves get the better of them instead. A first Heineken Cup for Clermont seems on the cards. Prediction – Clermont by 8.

ASM Clermont Auvergne vs. Toulon

Saturday 18th May, 17:00

Aviva Stadium, Dublin

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE

15. Lee Byrne, 14. Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13. Aurelien Rougerie (c), 12. Wesley Fofana, 11. Napolioni Nalaga, 10. Brock James, 9. Morgan Parra; 1. Thomas Domingo, 2. Benjamin Kayser, 3. Davit Zirakashvili, 4. Jamie Cudmore, 5. Nathan Hines, 6. Julien Bonnaire, 7. Gerhard Vosloo, 8. Damien Chouly.

16. Ti’i Paulo, 17. Vincent Debaty, 18. Clement Ric, 19. Julien Pierre, 20. Julien Bardy, 21. Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 22. David Skrela, 23. Regan King.

TOULON

15. Delon Armitage, 14. Rudi Wulf, 13. Mathieu Bastareaud, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Alexis Palisson, 10. Jonny Wilkinson, 9. Sebastian Tillous-Borde; 1. Andrew Sheridan, 2. Sebastian Bruno, 3. Carl Hayman, 4. Bakkies Botha, 5. Nick Kennedy, 6. Dannie Roussow, 7. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 8. Chris Masoe.

16. Jean-Charles Orioli, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Davit Kubriashvili, 19. Joe van Niekerk, 20. Steffon Armitage, 21. Maxime Mermoz, 22. Frederic Michalak, 23. Jocelino Suta.

Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)

Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), George Clancy (IRFU)

TMO: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU)

Timekeeper: Andrew Baird (IRFU)

Citing Commissioner: Murray Whyte (IRFU)

Amlin adventure

Luckily there is one side we can cheer on this weekend – tonight Leinster take on Stade Francais at the ‘neutral’ venue of the RDS in the Amlin Challenge Cup final. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t put neutral in quotation marks because it is a neutral venue, it was chosen two years ago. Nevertheless, it’s a boost for the Dubliners.

Stade will have their eyes set on the trophy though. It is their get-out-of-jail card to get back into the Heineken Cup for next season after missing out on automatic qualification through the Top 14 where they finished eleventh. This won’t be the walkover everybody expects it will be. The French side will be massively up for this, make no mistake about that.

But Leinster have probably the strongest team in all of Europe and all the experience required to win yet another trophy. But for a bad streak of injuries early on in the season, it is likely they would be facing Clermont in the Heineken Cup final instead. However, they are in the Amlin now and they will still try to win it.

I think they will. The skill they have in their side, even with the changes they’ve made is incredible and Stade just won’t be able to compete with the intensity they bring to the game. Ulster sit up and take note, this is what we’re up against next weekend. Prediction – Leinster by 13.

Leinster Rugby vs. Stade Francais

Friday 17th May, 20:00

RDS Arena, Dublin

LEINSTER RUGBY

15. Rob Kearney, 14. Andrew Conway, 13. Fergus McFadden, 12. Ian Madigan, 11. Isa Nacewa, 10. Jonny Sexton, 9. Isaac Boss; 1. Jack McGrath, 2. Sean Cronin, 3. Mike Ross, 4. Quinn Roux, 5. Devin Toner, 6. Rhys Ruddock, 7. Sean O’Brien, 8. Jamie Heaslip (c).

16. Richardt Strauss, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Jamie Hagan, 19. Leo Cullen, 20. Shane Jennings, 21. John Cooney, 22. Andrew Goodman, 23. Dave Kearney.

STADE FRANCAIS

15. Jerome Porical, 14. Jeremy Sinzelle, 13. Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12. Paul Williams, 11. Hugo Bonneval, 10. Jules Plisson, 9. Julien Dupuy; 1. Aled de Malmanche, 2. Laurent Sempere, 3. Rabah Slimani, 4. Pascal Pape (c), 5. Scott LaValla, 6. David Lyons, 7. Pierre Rabadan, 8. Sergio Parisse.

16. Remi Bonfils, 17. Stan Wright, 18. Jeremy Becasseau, 19. Gerhard Mostert, 20. Antoine Burban, 21. Nicolas Bezy, 22. Paul Warwick, 23. Julien Arias.

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges, Ian Davies (both WRU)

TMO: Gareth Simmonds (WRU)

Timekeeper: Jude Quinn (IRFU)

Citing Commissioner: Maurizio Vancini (FIR)