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Instead they have to travel to the south of France and take on the all stars of Toulouse in the bear pit of the Stade Municipal. The Welshmen will rely on the form of their magnificent Grand Slammers, Tom Shanklin and Martyn Williams, who were at the heart of Wales 6 Nations exploits, as well as Gareth Thomas' appetite for overturning his old pals in the South West of France.
In amongst them, you've got the quartet of talented Kiwis - Paul Tito at second row, Ben Blair at full back, Jason Spice at scrum half, and Xavier Rush, captain powerhouse, at the heart of everything Cardiff have done this season. Rush leads from the front, tackles everything, drives ball forward and is a key man if you're going to Toulouse with any scent of a victory.
Cardiff's away form in the Heineken Cup has been good. Their result in the pool stages against another French team, Stade Francais, where they just missed out on victory, will give them an enormous sense of belief and they will believe they can win anywhere.
However, it won't be easy against a Toulouse side that are slowly but surely building momentum towards the business end of the season. They have a pack that just love to take people on physically and behind the scrum a player that I just love to watch. I would pay money just to see Jean Baptiste Elissalde work his magic, such is his skill and aptitude in the pivotal position at No.9, a sensational player in wonderful form.
And the class doesn't stop there, with Jauzion and Fritz in midfield and a back 3 almost straight from the French national side - Vincent Clerc, Cedric Heymans and Clement Poitrenaud. Electrifying pace and an eye for the gap mean they can take the game away from you in the blink of an eye, as Leinster found to their cost earlier this season.
