Heineken Cup Final

Munster V Toulouse
Date: Saturday, May 24
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 17.00 (16.00 GMT)

What a game that’s in store for us here this evening and I can’t wait for it. I had tickets and was all set to go but unfortunately for me work commitments got the better of me so il have to make do with watching this one from the comfort of my home.
Anyone who knows what they are talking about will agree that these two are the best club teams in Europe and one couldn’t have asked for a better pairing in the final.
After both France and Ireland underachieved at the world cup a few months ago there is a sense of national pride resting on the outcome of this game and that is especially the case for the Munster side.
Munster boss Declan Kidney is in charge for his last outing before taking over the national job and he has named the same side that unconvincingly defeated Saracens in the semi final. As usual a lot today will depend on O Gara and his kicking ability. After the disaster he had at the world cup he is back on song and playing really well at club level. Munster are able to call upon the likes of Doug Howlett and Ian Dowling on the wings, whilst at scrumhalf, Tomas O'Leary has been chosen once more over Peter Stringer.

Munster:
Beat Saracens 18-16 in the semi-final
Beat Gloucester 16-3 in the quarterfinal
Beat London Wasps 19-3
Lost to Clermont Auvergne 19-26
Beat Llanelli Scarlets 22-13
Beat Llanelli Scarlets 29-16
Beat Clermont Auvergne 36-13
Lost to London Wasps 23-24

Toulouse are a typically strong French side and have plenty of experience. To be fair to them I think the draw has been a little kinder to them so far with them topping their group courtesy of 4 bonus points picked up along the way. That set up a home tie with Cardiff, which they were never going to lose. After that they had semi final debutantes London Irish to contend with which they won 20 – 15.
Names like Cédric Heymans, Yannick Jauzion, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and Byron Kelleher would put fear into most teams and add in forward such as Thierry Dusautoir, Shaun Sowerby, Patricio Albacete, Fabien Pelous, William Servat and you know you have a good team. The clash of Pelous and O Connell will be crucial, as they will line up against each other in the line out

Toulouse:
Beat London Irish 21-15 in the semi-final
Beat Cardiff Blues 41-17 in the quarterfinal
Beat Edinburgh 34-10
Lost to Leinster 13-20
Beat Leicester Tigers 22-11
Lost to Leicester Tigers 9-14
beat Leinster 33-6
Beat Edinburgh 19-15

Verdict
I really can’t call this one as it’s a toss of a coin for me. Both are very strong and maybe the slight advantage is with the French. But Munster have over 60,000 fans making the journey and they are loud and fanatical which should create an electric atmosphere. With it being so tight I can only see the winner taking this game by the slimmest of margins so perhaps the best choice is to take both teams to win by 1 – 5 points margin with a tiny saver on the draw. Remember two of the previous finals have been drawn so it’s not impossible and at odds of 20/1 is worth a small shot

PICKS
Munster to win by 1 – 5 points = 6 @ ladbrokes – 3 points
Toulouse to win by 1 – 5 points = 7 @ ladbrokes – 3 points
Munster/ Toulouse draw = 21 @ paddy power – 1 point