Euro kings won't panic

Toulouse have failed to hit the ground running at the start of the French Top 14 season, with defeats away to Castres, Montpellier and now Biarritz already on their record.

In a re-match of last May's Heineken Cup final, Toulouse found themselves on the wrong end of a very different result as the hosts dominated throughout.

Noves' men must now regroup quickly with current leaders Bayonne coming to town on Friday evening.

"It would worry me if we were weak in our areas of strength," Noves told Midi Olympique.

"But in each of the three away defeats, we've taken a losing bonus and pushed the other team quite close. So am I worried? No. Frustrated? Yes."

Noves has been at the helm for the past 17 years at the Stade Municipal and has collected seven French championships and lifted Europe's premier trophy, the Heineken Cup, on a record-breaking four occasions.

Even with his side currently sitting third in the championship, the former French winger has played down their chances ahead of the visit of the Top 14's pace setters, although one suspects Noves' tongue-in-cheek attitude is actually born out of a inherent confidence in the abilities of his star-studded squad.

"The league leaders are coming, quite simply," added Noves.

"Our goal will be to hang on. Bayonne are full of confidence. We will try to work on our recovery and try to do what we can against the leaders and maybe take a losing bonus point."

Toulouse will be looking for revenge in their first Heineken Cup game of the new season when they face London Wasps in a re-match of the 2003/04 final which the English side won dramatically in the dying seconds 27-20.

Newport Gwent Dragons then host the champions a week later on Saturday, October 16, before Toulouse prepare for back-to-back fixtures against Glasgow Warriors in December.