By Bryn Palmer

PREVIOUS FINALS 1996: Toulouse 21-18 Cardiff 1997: Brive 28-9 Leicester 1998: Bath 19-18 Brive 1999: Ulster 21-6 Colomiers 2000: Northampton 9-8 Munster 2001: Lei'ster 34-30 S Francais 2002: Leicester 15-9 Munster 2003: Toulouse 22-17 Perpigan

Wasps are aiming to become the fourth English club to lift the Heineken Cup.

Their opponents in the final, defending champions Toulouse, plan on being the first team to win it three times.

Should they do so, the French aristocrats would overtake two-time champions Leicester and ensure four triumphs apiece for Europe's two strongest countries.

The only time the silverware has not resided either side or the Channel in the tournament's nine-year history was in 1999.

That year, Ulster profited from the absence of English clubs and French fragility away from home to blaze a memorable trail all the way to a frenzied Lansdowne Road final.

But if Wasps, with the benefit of similar 'home' support, triumph at Twickenham, it will be the fifth time in seven years England's Premiership has provided the winners.

BBC Sport recalls the four previous occasions an English side has been able to call themselves 'champions of Europe.'

French clubs prevailed in the early years of Europe's fledgling competition, but Bath dipped deep into the Heineken well to wrest the trophy from Brive in a pulsating final.

Callard kicked all Bath's points

Against a side containing the talents of Penaud, Venditti, Lamaison and Magne, Bath's magnificent defence and iron resolve held sway in front of a partisan 36,000 crowd.

Full-back Jon Callard enjoyed his finest hour in club colours, scoring all Bath's points through a conversion of his own try and four penalties.

Lamaison banged over four penalties for Brive, but his missed shot at goal late on saw Scotland's Andy Nicol become the first British player to lift the trophy.

Not a final noted for its glittering rugby, but an epic collision with neither side taking a backward step.

Lam (right) led Saints to victory

Northampton, missing injured scrum-half Matt Dawson and with the inexperienced Ali Hepher at fly-half, opted to confront Munster's mighty pack head-on.

With skipper Pat Lam defying injury to lead the charge from number eight, the Saints had to summon every last ounce of energy to subdue the red advance.

Munster scored the only try through flanker David Wallace to lead 8-6 at the interval, but Paul Grayson's three penalties - his third the only score of the second half - prevailed.

The best final to date, and the second time an English side had defied the odds to win against a French side enjoying home advantage.

Martin Johnson picked up the Cup twice in two years

Leicester left it late though, centre Leon Lloyd scything through for his second try in the closing minutes after the visitors were behind for most of the match.

The Tigers defended brilliantly, all Stade's points coming from the boot of veteran fly-half Diego Dominguez, who kicked nine penalties and a drop goal.

But Leicester played the better attacking rugby, and deservedly triumphed with Neil Back also crossing and Tim Stimpson kicking 19 points in a memorable comeback victory.

Munster, denied by Northampton two years earlier, belatedly summoned the spirit that had brought them to Cardiff but could not outwit the belligerent Tigers.

Healey's tackle denied O'Neill

Trailing to tries from Geordan Murphy and the maverick Austin Healey, the Irishmen finally looked like scoring one of their own as they attacked deep into injury-time.

But first the video referee ruled out a try in the corner for John O'Neill, before a fiendish sleight-of-hand from Neil Back denied Munster a possible match-winning position.

At a scrum five metres from the Leicester line, the former England flanker knocked the ball from Peter Stringer's grasp and flipped it straight back to his own second row.