Every FINAL MATCH deserves watching, Harlequins vs Stade Francais live Amlin Challenge Cup the final
Every FINAL MATCH deserves watching live , Harlequins vs Stade Francais live Amlin Challenge Cup the final in Cardiff City
France will have an Amlin Challenge Cup finalist at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday, 20 May – and former champions ASM Clermont Auvergne have set their sights on adding the title to the ones they lifted in 1999 and 2007.
The reigning French champions clash with Stade Français Paris at Stade Charlety on Friday night less than two weeks after the clubs met in the Top 14 at the same venue with Clermont running out 20-12 winners on that occasion.
But Clermont captain Aurelien Rougerie dismisses any suggestion that they go into the semifinal with a major psychological advantage thanks to that recent victory.
“The Amlin Challenge Cup is a different competition with different refereeing and we will need to adapt and forget our previous results,” said the French international centre.
“The fact that we are playing Paris again in such a short time is a sheer coincidence since the Top 14 fixtures were already set but it has turned out we are going to face Stade Français Paris in the Amlin Challenge Cup semifinals whilst we have just beaten them in the Top 14,” he added.
The Clermont skipper was at pains to point out that they try to view each game in isolation, rather than let past results influence their preparations.
He explained: “I know this is perhaps somewhat confusing but we try to handle each case as a whole new encounter each time. It would be so easy to fall into the same traps so we’ve got to be watchful and prepare as if it were a whole new set-up, whether our opponents might be the exact same outfit or not.
“So there is no room for complacency in our approach as we don’t want any surprises,” he said.
Clermont were squeezed out of Heineken Cup knock-out qualification, finishing in second spot in Pool Two behind 2009 Heineken Cup champions Leinster.
It meant that they, along with Munster and London Wasps, joined the five Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners in the quarterfinals, Clermont easing past La Rochelle 23-13 at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
Now they travel to Stade Charlety – wary that Stade Francais Paris may regard winning the Amlin as their best opportunity of Heineken Cup rugby next season.
“This might be a chance for Stade Français to come back into the Heineken Cup next season so there is a lot at stake for them and this will make the semifinal all the more fierce,” said Rougerie.
“The Parisians will have done their homework as much as we did, and they won’t want to make the same mistakes twice so we can’t let our guard down.
Rougerie pointed out that the Challenge Cup has some quality sides involved, so they cannot afford to take anything for granted.
“With teams like Munster and Harlequins still in the mix the games are definitely top class. A trophy is always good to have in your cabinet and we’re up for that, and we will certainly work hard towards that,” he said.
Fixtures and teams for the Amlin Challenge Cup semifinals
Friday, April 29
Stade Francais Paris v ASM Clermont Auvergne
(Venue: Stade Charlety – Kick-off: 20.45; GMT 18.45)
Teams:
Stade Français Paris: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Gonzalo Tiesi, 11 Guillaume Bousses, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Antoine Burban, 6 James Haskell, 5 Pascal Pape, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 David Attoub, 2 Laurent Sempere, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Remi Bonfils, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Damien Weber, 19 Arnaud Marchois, 20 Pierre Rabadan, 21 Juan Leguizamon, 22 Noel Oelschig, 23 Ollie Phillips.
ASM Clermont Auvergne: 15 Tusiata Pisi, 14 Wesley Fofana, 13 Aurelien Rougerie (captain), 12 Marius Joubert, 11 Kini Murimurivalu, 10 Brent Russell, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Elvis Vermeulen, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Jamie Cudmore, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Vincent Debaty.
Replacements: 16 Mario Ledesma, 17 Lionel Faure, 18 Martin Scelzo, 19 Alexandre Audebert, 20 Sione Lauaki, 21 Kevin Senio, 22 Gonzalo Canale, 23 Anthony Floch.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Saturday, April 30
Munster v Harlequins
(Venue: Thomond Park – Kick-off: 13.00; GMT 13.00)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Paul Warwick, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O’Gara (captain), 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Mick O’Driscoll, 4 Donnacha O’Callaghan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Johne Hayes, 19 Paul O’Connell, 20 Dave Ryan, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Sam Tuitupou, 23 Johne Murphy.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown; 14 Gonzo Camacho, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye; 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Maurie Fa’asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Matt Cairns, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 Mark Lambert, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Will Skinner, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Ross Chisholm.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
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