Leinster may have re-asserted their supremacy domestically at the Aviva Stadium, but Toulon’s 32-28 win over Toulouse in the Stade Velodrome in Marseilles the same night also re-affirmed that Matt O’Connor’s team face the toughest task of the Irish provinces in this weekend’s Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
Whereas Leinster provided 17 players who featured for Ireland in the Six Nations, Toulon’s expensively assembled cast of World Cup winners and other high achievers from around the world were largely unconcerned by the Six Nations.
Only Mathieu Bastareaud was a regular, with centre partner Maxime Mermoz featuring in the final two games; albeit Martin Castrogiovanni was a casualty with Italy.
Perhaps partly as a result, Bernard Laporte's team have hit their best form of the season, with five wins in their last six games leaving them a point behind leaders Montpellier in the Top 14 and, with three games to go, well placed for a semi-final place.
Helpful
Michael Claassens, their South African scrumhalf signed from Bath, admitted yesterday the relative lack of Six Nations involvement could be helpful.
“Most of the Toulon team were here. I think there were just two guys missing through the Six Nations. That definitely helps as you get to know each other and play with each other more.
“I know Leinster were missing a few guys in the Six Nations but they play together there with Ireland and they’ve been playing together for years.”
That is a fair point, but as a measure of the task facing Leinster, Toulon have won all 10 of their previous home ties in the Heineken Cup. This season they have won 13 out of 14 home matches, the one blemish a 22-21 defeat to Grenoble in early January.
Such is their desire to retain the title they won in the Aviva against Clermont last May, after Leinster’s two-year hold on the trophy, they never had any intention of making a more lucrative quarter-final move to Marseilles as opposed to keeping the tie in the Felix Mayol.
The stadium, located practically on the port, offers as raucous and febrile an atmosphere as any in France and as Claassens accepted, can be a huge lift for Toulon.
“With the support there is here, with the people always shouting for you and cheering you on, that will definitely lift you. You would hope that sides would get intimidated by that but, to be honest, I don’t think Leinster will.
"They have so many international players and so many guys who have played at the highest level for so many years all over the world, so I think for them it will just be another game on a different field."
Fluid nature
Toulon showed a different side to their character in the pool stages with their seven tries to four, 51-28 win at home to Glasgow and interestingly, Claassens maintained their multi-national squad prefer the fluid nature of the Heineken Cup to the more stop-start nature of the Top 14.
“The Heineken Cup is different to the French league. I know all the boys here like to play in the Heineken Cup. They prefer it because it’s a bit more flowing. I’d say you play a bit more.
“It’s not like the French league where it is sometimes two or three phases and then the game breaks down. There’s a big hype around the Heineken Cup because Toulon won it last year so there’s a lot of expectation.”
His respect for Leinster is in part based on losing to them in the Aviva by 52-27 with Bath two seasons ago.
“It felt like we playing against 30 guys that day.”
"They are obviously one of the top teams in the Heineken Cup and have been for a number of years. They are a very organised team, they're coached very well and they've got a lot of international players.
Toughest game
"They've been one of the top teams in the Heineken Cup for years so it will probably be our toughest game of the season."
“They’ve got strength all over the park in their organisation, their coaching, the players they have, with good forwards and good backs. They’re a really difficult team to play against and they’re Irish as well so will be very passionate.”
It will also assuredly be Leinster’s toughest game to date .
