France the battleground for European rugby semi-finals

Defending champions Toulon put their crown on the line against Irish contenders Leinster this weekend, while English champions Saracens take on Clermont in the European Champions Cup semi-finals.

The winners will meet in the final on May 2nd 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, will go into their tie on Sunday as favourites at the magnificent Velodrome stadium in Marseille.

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 at Toulon in 2011.

And they come into the tie at the summit of the Top 14 table and unbeaten in European knockout competition since losing the 2012 Challenge Cup final 21-18 against Biarritz.  

Leinster, the winners in 2011 and 2012 before winning the European Challenge Cup in 2013, have had a modest domestic season to date, lying fifth in Pro 12, but clearly know how to turn it up a notch in Europe as their pedigree firmly illustrates.

Leinster's New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth knows the match will likely be won or lost in the battle between the forwards that promises a super-heavyweight clash with the Toulon pack weighing in at some 895kg (1,973lbs).

- Never boring -

"We are going down to their patch and they are probably the best team in the world at the moment with all their superstars," said the 31-year-old.

"It's going to be a hell of a task but we will give it every shot," he told the Irish Times.

"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 while they also lost the 2013 European final 16-15 against Toulon.

- High-octane -

They are 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 a strong home support on Saturday at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, the ground 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 which saw them reach 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 Pro 12 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," said Davies.
"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 St 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.

A capacity crowd of some 41,000 is expected for the clash.

Semi-finals

Saturday

Clermont (FRA) v Saracens (ENG) 1415 GMT

Sunday

Toulon (FRA)  v Leinster (IRL)  1415 GMT
Source: AFP