Perpignan V Toulouse Head To Head

But who will come out on top? Ercrugby.com takes a closer look at some of the key battles on the park...

Props

Perpignan: With Renaud Peillard and Stéphane De Besombes, survivors of the 1998 French championship final loss against Paris, Perpginan have experience and cohesion. And with the young and powerful Nicolas Mas, they have energy for the final and future. Peillard and De Besombes will be playing their final gams for for Perpignan in Dublin and will be giving it everything.

Toulouse: French rugby writers refer to the Toulouse props as "technicians". But will Patrice Collazo, one of the best loosehead props of France, be 100 percent after his twisted ankle?

Hookers

Perpignan: Michel Konieckiewicz is "the father" of the pack and veteran Marc Dal Maso is a very experienced player. Both are dynamic players in the loose.

Toulouse: With Yannick Bru in sparking form and in the frame for selection for the World Cup, and William Servat so dynamic he often plays at No 8, Toulouse have two excellent hookers, whose consistency as lineout throwers has helped Toulouse's set piece gain a reputation of excellence.

Locks

Perpignan: With future French international Jerome Thion and Rimas Alvarez-Kairelis (the surprise package of the French season), Perpginan can count on two monsters at scrum-time and in the loose. Reserves John Daniell and Christophe Porcu are more than handy replacements.

Toulouse: Huge Fabien Pelous and Gérard the blue eyed giant, Toulouse can boast a selection of locks who are really very strong. Pelous is having one his best year's, and is a talismanic figure in the heart of the defence. Under the guidance of Pelous, Gerard is getting better and better and has really caught the eye with his ball carrying in Europe this season. Irishman Trevor Brennan is a talmismanic figure at the heart of the forwards.

Flankers

Perpignan: Goutta, captain courage, and Le Corvec (another revelation of the season with Alvarez-Kairelis) without forgetting Mallier the fighter (who played european final with Brive), Perpignan is powerfull and its flankers weights on opponents defences.

Toulouse: With Jean Bouilhou, Trevor Brennan and Finau Maka, coach Guy Novà¨s has an exceptional richness on the side of the scrum. Bouilhou is the king at lineout, Brennan has a fantastic heart, and Maka provides the power. Toulouse fear nobody around the scrums.

No 8

Perpignan: Phil Murphy is the star of the side. The Canadian of Catalonia is a real driving force. He is a key player for Perpignan.

Toulouse: Isitolo Maka is a huge 120kg but will he be competitive after his broken leg recovery? Christian Labit is playing the best rugby of his life and should get the nod.

Half-backs

Perpignan: Ludovic Loustau and Australian Manny Edmonds are a great combination, with Edmonds one of the main reasons behind Perpignan's great season.

Toulouse: You can't have too much of a good thing, and Yann Delaigue and Frederic Michalak are both excellent goal-kickers as well as skilful scrum-halves. Toulouse have a possible advantage in this area, but will miss the injured Jean-Baptiste Elissalde.

Centres

Perpignan: The backline play has improved remarkably since Edmonds' arrival. Christophe Manas and Pascal Giordani may be not as powerful as their opponents, but their pace and heart can cause a lot of damage in defence and attack - a good compromise of power and pace.

Toulouse: Xavier Garbajosa played the whole Six Nations championship for Les Bleus, Yannick Jauzion played for France A and Cedric Desbrosse was in the 1999 World Cup squad. The trio are strong and fast with no obvious weaknesses to their game.

Wingers

Perpignan: Frederic Cermeno and Pascal Bomati (a former league player) and both fast and very dangerous from broken play. Some say they are weak on defence, but not if their performances in the Heineken Cup are anything to go by.

Toulouse: Toulouse are rich in talented wingers. Cédric Heymans and Vincent Clerc are two of the best in France who took the international places of David Bory, Aurélien Rougerie and Christophe Dominici. And Emile Ntamack needs no introduction.

Fullbacks

Perpignan: Jean-Marc Souverbie was not in the Perpignan starting XV a few months ago, but got his chance when Manny Edmonds moved to No 10. Souverbie took his chance with both hands and has been rewarded with a tour of Argentina, where he will challenge Toulouse rival Clément Poitrenaud for the French No 15 jersey.

Toulouse: He is young, gifted and the current French fullback Great under pressure, fast in attack and a hard tackler, Clément Poitrenaud is a key player for Toulouse.

Coaches

Perpignan: Olivier Saà¯sset is a strong presence on the Perpignan bench. A former French flanker and many times French champion with Béziers, Saà¯sset has forgotten more about scrummaging than most people know. His inspirational team talks led to great wins over Gloucester and Munster.

Toulouse: Guy Novà¨s has been in charge at Toulouse for an incredible nine seasons - long than the Heineken Cup has existed. A former 400m athlete and Toulouse winger, Noves has managed to produce consistent winning sides, even though he often loses as many as two-thirds of his side to international duty. As the Toulouse song says: "On vient, gagne et on s'en va!" ("we come, we win and we go home!").