France the battleground for Champions Cup semis

Top 14 front-runners Toulon and Clermont ‘on course’ for European title showdown

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Clermont centre Jonathan Davies, seen here in action for Wales during the 2015 Six Nations, is relishing Saturday’s Euro semi-final against Saracens. “I wanted to be a part of games like these and that’s why I moved to Clermont,” he says. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:57pm, 17 Apr 2015

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

The winners will meet in the final on May 2 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, go into Sunday’s tie in Marseille as firm favourites.

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 in 2011 at Toulon.

Leinster’s New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth (left) expects Sunday’s match against Toulon to be won or lost in a battle of the forwards. Photo: Reuters

And they come into the match at the summit of the Top 14 table and unbeaten in Euro knockout competition since 2012 when they lost to Biarritz in the second-tier European Challenge Cup final.

Leinster, winners of the championship in 2011 and 2012, have had a modest domestic season to date and sit fifth in Pro12, but clearly know how to turn it up a notch in Europe.

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