Twickenham Stadium has the honour
of hosting the first ever Champions Cup Final and anyone with a ticket or
viewing on either Sky Sports or BT Sport, both have the rights, will be in
for something special. The physical battles of the respective squads at any
point in time would awaken the senses long before you add on the intense
rivalry, silverware and indeed history that will be made this afternoon.
Three consecutive European titles has never been achieved and for Clermont the
dream of lifting the trophy that they have agonisingly watched others beat them
to time and time again would evoke even the toughest of grown men to tears.
The question is how will this
match play out? Who will gain the upper hand? Dare we predict that it will go
to extra time? It is fair to say that most Finals usually have a clear favourite,
one side that knows that they are in the driving seat and should take
the title all things considered. However with the 2015 Champions Cup Final I genuinely
believe that you could make a strong case for either here. At Toulon’s heart is
the most discussed man in the land, Steffon Armitage, his ability to disrupt and
win possession is unrivalled in the competition, is highlighted in the 19 turnovers
he has achieved to date, over double Fritz Lee who is Clermont’s highest
achiever. Out the back Matt Giteau will be central to unlocking proceedings; Giteau
hasn’t played any minutes at 10 this season however his natural talent and
experience will see him through with bells on. Let’s not forget the reason why
Australia’s change in selection policy has been nicknamed ‘The Giteau Clause’
and it will be his service to those outside of him, Hernandez, Bastareaud,
Habana and Mitchell that will generate the pace required.
In the Quarter Finals Clermont
hypnotised us all, they were utterly ruthless and displayed decadent and
effective attacking rugby to crush the Northampton Saints. A little while later
under a mountain of pressure they pushed aside Saracens, in this match they had to show other side of their game as they were forced to play tighter, with less ball in
hand and rely on taking their moment wisely. As we saw, they did so with
proficiency and should be prepared for whatever Toulon choose to throw at them.
Fofana, Nakaitaci and Abendanon must be at their igniting best and deliver
consistent brilliance, Jamie Cudmore’s jousts with Botha and Williams will be
mesmerising and must be fruitful for Clermont and Parra and James must channel
their combined experience.
The amount of pressure on the
shoulders of both sides is more than any of us could cope with, however given
the talent, experience and prowess amongst the two squads I don’t expect there
to be any signs of choking, to a man they have all dealt with intense Finals
before and exceptional output is mandatory and not optional. From the outside
it takes a brave person to look past the experience of Toulon, they have been
there and done it before whilst Clermont have the cloud of previous
defeats hanging over them. Toulon
haven’t shone just yet however you know that on their day they can beat any side in Europe. Ultimately there are isn’t a clear cut answer as to today's result and the only certainty is that we will witness a truly great European
Champions Cup Final.
