Catsres Olympique coach Christian Gajan talks to ercrugby.com as his side prepare to take on Caerphilly in the PARKER PEN SHIELD final...
Gajan is understandably please his side have progressed to the final, and with his side just 80-minutes away from silverware, Gajan was in upbeat mood.
"It's a great reward for the club and the team to be able to play a European final after an average season and the players are really up for it," he said.
"There are only three European competitions so it's an honour to make it to the final of one of them.
"I have been involved in European competitions almost every season since they began. I was coach of Castres when they got to the final against Bourgoin in 1997, then I was coach of Treviso in the Heineken Cup, before joining Toulouse, then Castres. I have always taken a lot of pleasure from these competitions, they bring something extra to the rugby season and you learn such a lot from them.
Gajan will need all his European experience to unpick a Caerphilly side that has defied the odds to make it to the final. And he has been doing his homework on his Welsh opponents.
"I have managed to get some information on Caerphilly. I have managed to get a cassette of their home semi-final and of course I have Italian friends from my time at Treviso so they have told me about Caerphilly's performances in Italy.
"They are not a typical Welsh team because they move the ball a lot and have a very open game, they don't rely on a big pack and a kicking game like a lot of Welsh teams. And of course, I remember Mark Ring from hi