PARIS: Defending champions Toulon put their crown on the line against Irish contenders Leinster this weekend, while English champions Saracens take on Clermont in the European Champions Cup semi-finals.
The winners will meet in the final on May 2nd at Twickenham.
Toulon, who won their second straight championship last year when they beat Saracens 23-6 behind the boot of retired English legend Jonny Wilkinson, will go into their tie on Sunday as favourites at the magnificent Velodrome stadium in Marseille.
The team are coached by Bernard Laporte, who guided France from 1999 to 2007 and reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2003 and 2007 before returning to club coaching at Toulon in 2011.
And they come into the tie at the summit of the Top 14 table and unbeaten in European knockout competition since losing the 2012 Challenge Cup final 21-18 against Biarritz.
Leinster, the winners in 2011 and 2012 before winning the European Challenge Cup in 2013, have had a modest domestic season to date, lying fifth in Pro 12, but clearly know how to turn it up a notch in Europe as their pedigree firmly illustrates.
Leinster's New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth knows the match will likely be won or lost in the battle between the forwards that promises a super-heavyweight clash with the Toulon pack weighing in at some 895kg (1,973lbs).
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