Wesley Fofana, the man who came within inches of knocking Leinster Rugby out of the Heineken Cup, claims picking a winner of the Heineken Cup final at Twickenham Stadium is an almost impossible call.
The ASM Clermont Auvergne centre has faced both Heineken Cup finalists this season, Leinster and Ulster Rugby, and been on a losing side against both Irish teams. That's why he is well placed to assess who will be crowned kings of European club rugby on 19 May.
"We played Ulster twice this season in Pool matches. We lost in Belfast and had a lot of trouble beating them at our place," admitted Fofana.
"I think it is going to be quite an open match and I don't think it will necessarily end in a Leinster win. In fact I don't really know who will win."
Fofana got within inches of steering Clermont into the final when he crossed the line in the dying moments, only to lose control of the ball as he went for the match-winning touchdown.
"I thought I had scored when I stretched out my arm. I didn't think there was a knock on at that moment," said Fofana.
"When the referee ruled out the try it was hugely frustrating because I really felt like I'd touched it down. Everything happened very quickly."
Yet despite their bitter disappointment in losing out on the chance to become only the third French club to win the Heineken Cup, Clermont were given a boost in the wake of their gallant performance from a man who knows what it takes to win the top club rugby title in the northern hemisphere.
Michael Cheika, who had seen his Stade Francais Paris cruelly side booted out of the Amlin Challenge Cup by a last-gasp Jonny Wilkinson drop goal two days earlier, claimed Clermont's 18-15 defeat will have taken them a step nearer their ultimate goal.
"To win the Heineken Cup you have to have the taste of defeat in your mouth. Next year all of Europe will be afraid of Clermont and they'll finish by winning the Heineken Cup," said Cheika, who steered Leinster to their first victory in 2009.
