Preview: Toulouse v Leinster

Cast your minds back, four years and one month. The setting, a capacity-filled Stade de Toulouse, the teams, Toulouse and Leinster.

Cast your minds back, four years and one calendar month. The setting, a capacity-filled Stade de Toulouse, the teams, Toulouse and Leinster.

Toulouse at the time were champions of Europe. Leinster were full of Irish internationals but were only now beginning their rise into European prominence. They'd gone down at home to Bath and away at Bourgoin during the pool stages, while Toulouse had emerged from a pool including Wasps and the Scarlets unbeaten. The French were hot favourites.

Eighty minutes later, their title retention dream lay in tatters, with Leinster having run riot en route to a 41-35 win. One of the tries is still readily available on youtube four years later at the top of most Heineken highlights reels. At another Sky Sports commentator Stuart Barnes shouted himself hoarse in excitement (also available on youtube with a little more searching, highly amusing).

Two seasons later Toulouse did inflict revenge of a sort, hammering the Irish 33-6 in a pool match. But that's unlikely to have eradicated the bitter taste of the 2006 clash, just as Leinster's memories of that glorious day have not dimmed. Veteran lock Malcolm O'Kelly still rates it one of his top three Heineken memories (beating Munster and lifting the trophy last season just beat it).

Four seasons later and the roles are reversed somewhat. Leinster are now champions, although they've not exactly come roaring through the pool stages. Toulouse suffered a blip in Cardiff, but by that point their pool was all but won. Their quarter-final display was that of a team high on confidence and concentration, while Leinster's was more down to spirit and a good slice of Irish luck.

Leinster rested most of their team last weekend but still have injuries to contend with. Jonathan Sexton will not play, meaning Shaun Berne will take over the playmaking role as well as the goal-kicking. He's stepped up to the plate in the past, but asking him to go eighty minutes against Toulouse's backs is another level.

Rob Kearney has recovered from injury to start at full-back in a backline which includes five Ireland internationals. Shane Horgan and Isa Nacewa make up the rest of the back three with Brian O'Driscoll partnering Gordon D'Arcy at centre. Eoin Reddan forms a half-back partnership with Berne.

Leo Cullen leads the side and starts in the second row with Scotland's Nathan Hines. Cian Healy starts at loose-head prop in a front row which includes John Fogarty and Stan Wright while Shane Jennings forms an all-Ireland international back-row alongside Kevin McLaughlin and number eight Jamie Heaslip.

CJ van der Linde, Malcolm O'Kelly and Girvan Dempsey are named amongst a strong replacements bench.

Toulouse have a back-line full of French international caps, all fed by All Black legend Byron Kelleher, who has promised fans an open-top bus Haka if Toulouse go all the way this year. As if that wasn't enough, all the replacement backs are French internationals too.

In the pack, newly-appointed Springbok Daan Human props down at loosehead in a pack featuring all international players too, and with three more on the bench. It's a heck of a team, but there has been mental fragility at times if the flow of the game is not going Toulouse's way. Leinster's abrasive and relentless style could prey on that fragility. It's going to be some afternoon.

Head to head: Byron Kelleher v Eoin Reddan. Both back-lines are full of internationals, but it's the feeder men who have the biggest responsibility. Reddan is more of a quick and slick scrum-half, Kelleher the archetypal whippersnapper, although with a good deal more physical presence. Whoever gets the upper hand here will be the key to his side having the upper hand out wide.

Prediction: It's too hard. But we have to. So we're going for Irish spirit to pick off French fragility and pick Leinster by four.

The teams:

Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 David Skrela, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Shaun Sowerby, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Benoit Lecouls, 2 William Servat, 1 Daan Human.
Replacements:16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Louis Picamoles , 21 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 22 Yann David , 23 Maxime Medard.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Shaun Berne, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Leo Cullen (c), 3 Stan Wright, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Bernard Jackman, 17 CJ Van Der Linde, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Malcolm O'Kelly, 20 Stephen Keogh, 21 Paul O'Donohoe, 22 Eoin O'Malley, 23 Girvan Dempsey.

Date: Saturday, May 1
Venue: Stade de Toulouse
Kick-off: 16.45 (15.45 BST)
Referee: Nigel Owens