Heineken Cup clubs clash in the Top 14 semis

The first semi-final of the French championship will see last season's Top 14 finalists face the Catalans from Perpignan who performed well at the end of this season. ASM Clermont Auvergne, first in the Top 14 ranking, will try to qualify again for the French final and win the title at last which has been escaping from them for so many years.

Despite the odds being on Clermont in that semi-final, the Catalans ended their season with a victory against Stade Français and hope to return to the Stade de France four years after their last final. USAP head coach, Jacques Brunel, knows that those big occasions are down to details:

"We proved that we were capable of challenging the best teams. We are going to build on our enthusiasm and our strong character. It will all come down to our form and being physically ready. And especially as a team we have to prepare to go that extra yard."

The second semi-final is a real classic in the French championship and will see the old enemies Stade Toulousain and Stade Français Paris facing one another. After their defeat in the Heineken Cup, Toulouse players will try to qualify and beat the defending champions from Paris.

In six French semi-final clashes, the Parisians beat the Toulousains four times. The statistics speak volume for Fabien Galthié's men but in the final phase it seems that the dynamics are reversed according to Fabien Pelous. After the defeat in the Heineken Cup final against Munster, Toulouse will definitely want to make up for it and offer their supporters some silverware which they haven't achieved since 2001.

The semi-final clash between the two teams made of numerous international players will reveal the 2008 Top 14 champion according to the Toulouse back row forward Shaun Sowerby: "The winner of that game will be the Top 14 champion".