CARDIFF, WALES – Here we go, rugby fans and casual viewers…
WHAT: The Final. Heineken Cup Final. Ever. This will determine the best Rugby club in the Northern Hemisphere.
WHO: Rugby Club Toulonnais (France) v Saracens FC (London, England). Both clubs are on the verge of completing historic doubles. Toulon finished the French Top14 regular season in 2nd place and are in this year’s final. They are are also on the verge of joining Leinster and Leicester as the the H-Cup only ever back to back champions.
Saracens finished number one in the English Aviva Premiership and are also in the final. They are hoping to become the first English side since Wasps in ’06 to win the H-Cup.
WHEN:
Date: Saturday, May 24
Kickoff: 17:00 (local, 16:00 GMT)
WHERE: The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Altitude 14 meters from sea level. Capacity 72,000
Officials:
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ire) of World Cup Semi-final red card giving fame. Also recently retired from international match referring.
Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (Wal) know for being outspoken, accurate, having a tweeter account and one of the shining examples of Rugby’s accepting culture as he is openly gay. George Clancy (Ire) despite the occasional controversy, he is developing a reputation as one of the better refs in European Rugby.
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wal) , Wales’ longest serving referee and is retiring at the end of this season after 30 years as an official.
Teams:
Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Jonny Wilkinson (c), 9 Sebastien Tillous Borde, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Xavier Chiocci.
Replacements: 16 Jean charles Orioli, 17 Alexandre Menini , 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Ali Williams, 20 Virgile Bruni, 21 Maxime Mermoz , 22 Michael Claassens, 23 Jocelino Suta
Coach(es): Bernard Laporte (Head Coach), Olivier Azam (Forwards), Pierre Mignoni (Backs), David Fraisse (Defense)
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steve Borthwick (c), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Wyles
Coach(es): Mark McCall (Head Coach), Alex Sanderson (Forwards), Paul Gustard (Defence), Kevin Sorrell (Backs)
Let’s look at how each unit match-up against each other:
Front Rows: Both Sides have quality front rows, with Saracens boasting a current and former England International plus a former Springbok. It is not that we doubt the overall quality of Toulon’s unit. We feel Schalk Brits will play like an extra-man eight man his extra bit of class is the difference in the two units. Advantage – Saracens.
Second Rows: The shear grunt and power of drive that the Toulon locks bring will eclipse the Saracens come scrum time. In the lineout, Steve Borthwick is one of the shrewdest operators ever so expect Sarries to edge that. Though the modern game has made lineouts a greater focal point of set piece attack, scrums earn more penalties are still more disruptive. Advantage – Toulon.
Back Rows: This is where the majority of rugby games are won and lost. All the players in these positions are seasoned internationals. Even though Armitage and Smith haven’t represented their in years and Burger plays for a minnow, we have all witnessed how out of this world, these players can play together and as a unit. Advantage – Push.
Halfbacks: Both of the 10s are kicking points machines, with Sir Jonny the gold standard while young Farrell is viewed as the second coming of Sir Jonny.
Let’s look at how each unit match-up against each other:
Front Rows: Both Sides have quality front rows, with Saracens boasting a current and former England International plus a former Springbok. It is not that we doubt the overall quality of Toulon’s unit. We feel Schalk Brits will play like an extra-man eight man his extra bit of class is the difference in the two units. Advantage – Saracens.
Second Rows: The shear grunt and power of drive that the Toulon locks bring will eclipse the Saracens come scrum time. In the lineout, Steve Borthwick is one of the shrewdest operators ever so expect Sarries to edge that. Though the modern game has made lineouts a greater focal point of set piece attack, scrums earn more penalties are still more disruptive. Advantage – Toulon.
Back Rows: This is where the majority of rugby games are won and lost. All the players in these positions are seasoned internationals. Even though Armitage and Smith haven’t represented their in years and Burger plays for a minnow, we have all witnessed how out of this world, these players can play together and as a unit. Advantage – Push.
Halfbacks: Both of the 10s are kicking points machines, with Sir Jonny the gold standard while young Farrell is viewed as the second coming of Sir Jonny. The difference will lie in the 9s and how good their service is to their 10. With that considered…Advantage – Toulon
Inside Backs:? This will be an interesting dual of styles. Toulon run with a second 5/8th system and have another fly-half at 12 with their power runner at 13 while Sarries have their power runner at 12 with a more dangerous open space operator at 13. It is very tough call. Advantage – Push
Outside Backs: Despite both teams having quality finishers on the wing and FBS that are also of international standard, there is one difference that tips this thing. Toulon’s wingers can create tries for teammates and themselves unlike Saracens.
Advantage – Toulon
Reserves: When you look at the bench and see that Toulon can replace one former international with another, whereas the majority of Saracens internationals are already starting.
Coaching: This is a tight call as both these coaches have had the pressure to succeed since the season started. However considering the ups and downs and drama filled season including Laporte’s suspension that Toulon have endured.
?Advantage – Toulon
Here is how the Six Pack is picking its winner. Beyond that information we just provided:
JWB: Leinster and BOD to make history! Wait… They are out. Okay, check that… Despite the heart interestingly wanting Saracens to continue defy the naysayers and see Chris Wyles and Hayden Smith be part of something special, the head says it will be Legend’s Day; Sir Jonny will will his much more talented team to a victory, despite a heroic effort from Sarries. Toulon’s all-star depth will ultimately prevail by 8 points or better.
Loyd: Sarries. Go with the heart, not the head.
Hall: Saracens. If for nothing else, but for Queen and Country.
Yeats: Toulon. Better the French win than the English.
Harrington: Toulon – They’re better than Saracens
Blaber: Toulon. They have the depth and class and ability to vary their game depending on how the game is going. First repeat H-Cup Champions in a while.That’s it for now. Feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter@: RugbyWrapUp,Junoir Blaber, DJ Eberle, Nick Hall, James Harrington, Cody Kuxmann, Jaime Loyd, Karen Ritter , Jamie Wall, Jake Frechetteand Declan Yeats, respectively.
And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs!
