McKenzie: "Mind games have started"

Treble champions Toulouse and double champions Munster and Leicester Tigers have all also featured in two losing finals with the Paris aristocrats walking off losers in 2001 and 2005 against Leicester and Toulouse respectively.

Now they take on Harlequins on Saturday in an historic first tournament match at Stade de France with new coach and former Australian prop Ewen McKenzie, capped 51 times by the Wallabies between 1989 and 1998, adamant they must seize their chances this time.

"There is a lot of expectation on us for this game," he said. "The English-French rivalry is a good one and they are a side on the rise. We have to re-assemble ourselves and we're looking for our first win at Stade de France.

"One of the reasons I came to Stade Français is because of Max Guazzini's vision. The club is taking rugby in an exciting direction and being a part of that is great and I'm really enjoying myself.

"Obviously we don't get to see most of the showbiz end of things as we're focussed on preparing for the match but it's still great to be a part of them.

"And I'm not sure that having our players back a week ahead of Harlequins has really given us much of an advantage. Sometimes, the anxiety that goes with going straight from one competition to another can work well for you and they are able to bank on their more experienced players being able to get their heads on very quickly, being able to intake information quickly and get into the game.

"Dean (Richards) has got the wear and tear of the extra Test but I'm not sure that's going to help us much on the day. We didn't want to put all of our internationals back in the squad for our league game last week so it's going to be tough on them all coming back for this game and, although they have had an extra week of rest, I don't think that will help in terms of the guys getting settled back into the squad.

"And Deano's already started the mind games by saying that we are the best team in France! We certainly think we're one of the better teams and being the best is achievable but we need to be able to get the results even with key players out through international duty or injury so we have to be better in those circumstances.

"We have not picked up many winning bonus points this season so winning this match is even more crucial - we have the dream but then so does everybody else!

"Even if we had some key players out last weekend, they were all hard at work in video sessions ready to tune the others into the match.

"And we know Harlequins have a great tenacity. To be 19-0 down against the Scarlets and then come back for the win shows their resilience and ability to play over 80 minutes.

"They use the ball really well, have a very complete team and are now really pushing at the top and will be disappointed with losses like that to Leicester a couple of weeks ago.

"They are able to roll with the punches and, like us, I think that they're pragmatic and understand that it's a long season in the league but that these games are pretty much all or nothing. We are ready - but I'm sure they are as well"