Biarritz v Toulouse: Teams

A packed-out Stade de France will host Saturday's all-French Heineken Cup Final as Biarritz and Toulouse face off for European club rugby's biggest prize.

With the Six Nations Grand Slam already in the bag and the Heineken Cup guaranteed to stay on French soil, this weekend is set to cap a stellar season for French rugby - and with Toulon in the Amlin Challenge Cup Final on Sunday, things might get even better.

As an indication of the levels of expectation in the respective clubs' cities, both teams have been preparing behind closed doors this week.

Toulouse are in a record sixth Heineken Cup Final - a tournament record 110th match - and no-one comes close to matching their consistency over the past 15 years under Guy Noves.

Confident

Biarritz, meanwhile, head into the match looking to avenge their narrow 2006 final defeat to Munster.

And while they have been installed as underdogs for the Stade de France showdown, former Sale Sharks flanker Marcus Lund is confident he and his team-mates can silence the doubters once more.

"A lot of people were doubting us," said Lund, who won the last of his 10 England caps against South Africa in 2007.

"It was 'should we be in the quarter-finals?' and then 'should we be in the semi-finals?'

"I think those last two tournament victories (against Ospreys and Munster) have proved a few people wrong, and if people keep writing us off we will be happy to take that and just go out there and do the work.

"Those of our players who had been in the Heineken Cup final before said at the start of the season it was something they wanted to experience again.

"And now while we are happy we are there, it is a case of not just getting to the final, it is the winning of it.

"There is a really good team spirit, and that is what has driven us this far. I hope it takes us one step further and that we can pull it off."

Biarritz have been given a massive boost with number eight and talisman Imanol Harinordoquy declaring that nothing as minor as cracked ribs will keep him out of the match.

Coach Jack Isaac has made a switch at fly-half where Julien Peyrelongue will start, shifting Karmichael Hunt to midfield and dropping Ayoola Erinle to the bench.

Impressive

France prop Fabien Barcella starts on the bench, but will almost certainly come on in the second half.

After a dismal domestic season, Biarritz bounced back to beat the fancied Ospreys in the last eight and then former double champions Munster in the semi-final in San Sebastian. A mediocre season is now on the brink of being turned into one of glory for the Basques.

However, Toulouse have been equally impressive in powering their way to the Paris finale, losing just once in Europe all season - away to Cardiff.

The three-time European and 17-time French champions have played Biarritz twice this year on the domestic front, with the home side coming out on top each time.

Toulouse start with a very similar side to the one that beat Leinster. Maxime Medard takes over from out-of-form Cédric Heymans on the wing while Jean-Baptiste Poux replaces Daan Human at loosehead prop

Jean-Baptiste Elissalde is on the bench.

Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Jean-Baptiste Gobelet, 10 Julien Peyrelongue, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Magnus Lund, 5 Trevor Hall, 4 Jérôme Thion, 3 Campbell Johnstone, 2 Benoit August, 1 Eduard Coetzee.
Replacements: 16 Romain Terrain, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Rémy Hugues, 19 Manuel Carizza, 20 Florian Faure, 21 Valentin Courrent, 22 Philippe Bidabe, 23 Ayoola Erinle.

Toulouse:15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 David Skrela, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Shaun Sowerby, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Benoit Lecouls, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Daan Human, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Louis Picamoles , 21 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 22 Yann David , 23 Cédric Heymans.