AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP FINAL
Venue: Stade Velodrome, Marseille Date: Sunday, 23 May Kick-off: 1400 BST
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru & online, score updates on BBC Sport website. Live on Sky Sports 1
 Dai Young has been Blues coach since regional rugby's inception in 2003 |
Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young believes his side must prevent Toulon's all-star cast 'playing the rugby we all fear' in Sunday's Amlin Challenge Cup final. The French team features England legend Jonny Wilkinson, ex-All Black captain Tana Umaga and Argentines Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Felipe Contepomi. "It's a really massive challenge," acknowledged Young. "We can't allow them to get their noses in front. "If their confidence gets up they could start to play the rugby we all fear." Toulon finished second in the Top 14 after the regular season but lost their semi-final play-off 35-29 in extra-time to Clermont last weekend. While they look to Sunday for silverware, a shot at a European trophy has also saved what looked to have been a disappointing season for the Blues, who last season reached the Heineken Cup semi-finals and won the EDF Energy Anglo-Welsh Cup at Twickenham. The Welsh region failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup knock-out stages and were Magners League also-rans until they embarked on an incredible run of 12 wins in their last 14 games. The Blues narrowly missed out on a place in the end-of-season league play-offs but victories at English sides Newcastle Falcons and London Wasps fired the Blues into Sunday's final in Marseille. The Blues have not lost on the road since 9 January, becoming the first Welsh side since the advent of regional rugby to reach a European final.  | Toulon are one of France's top teams who have very few weaknesses and few unrecognisable players Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young |
Cardiff were beaten by Toulouse in the inaugural Heineken Cup final in 1996, the only time a Welsh team has qualified for European rugby's showpiece club occasion. The Blues, though, missed out only on penalty-kicks last year after their 26-26 extra-time semi-final draw with Leicester. Pontypridd are the only other Welsh side to qualify for the Challenge Cup final - Europe's second-tier tournament - which they lost to Sale 25-22 in 2002. Caerphilly also played in a European final when they were hammered 40-12 by French side Castres in 2003, in the third-tier European Shield competition. The star-studded Toulon team, who have a multi-million pound budget, will only have to travel 25 miles to Marseille's Stade Velodrome, where they have already beaten Toulouse in the Top 14 this season. "This is the biggest game since the region was born," Young told BBC Sport. "We have shown we have the mettle and determination to go to tough places and get a result, and it won't get much more difficult than this weekend. "We won't have to worry too much about the 50,000 in the stand but the 15 on the pitch will be tough enough. "Toulon are one of France's top teams who have very few weaknesses and few unrecognisable players. "But we do think there are one or two areas we can expose and we're looking forward to the game." Toulon are skippered by South African back-rower Joe van Niekerk while Australian scrum-half Matt Henjak, Argentine pair Contepomi and Juan Fernandez Lobbe and French hooker Sebastien Bruno also make up Philippe Saint-Andre's squad. | 606: DEBATE |
"We could reel off the quality players all day," admitted Young. "Jonny Wilkinson runs their game and determines where teams play. Plus he has the quality and kicking accuracy from penalties that could punish us and keep the scoreboard ticking over if we show indiscipline. "Contepomi is also a quality player and does bring that unpredictability into the game. He does the basics well but has the ability to do something different and that is hard to coach against. "And Lobbe versus [Xavier] Rush will be a mouth-watering clash in the back row. "It will be a great occasion with 50,000 people in the ground, whether they are our or their fans. This big-game atmosphere should inspire our players." Toulon are not the only team to boast big-name players though, with the Blues fielding British and Irish Lions stars Gethin Jenkins, Jamie Roberts and Martyn Williams, as well as New Zealand trio Xavier Rush, Paul Tito and Ben Blair. "We have a lot of confidence and momentum," added Young. "And if we play the way we know we can, there is no reason we can't come away with the result we want."
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