All-French final in Paris

Biarritz set up an all-French Heineken Cup final with Toulouse on May 22 after grinding out an 18-7 victory over Munster at the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastian.

Dimitri Yachvili kicked six penalties for Biarritz, who will be bidding to lift the trophy for the first time at the Stade de France in three weeks' time.

Munster scored the only try of the game through winger Keith Earls just before the half hour mark and held the lead into the final quarter.

But almost relentless Biarritz pressure finally yielded scoring opportunities for the France scrum-half, who knocked over four penalties in the final 15 minutes.

French return

The trophy has resided in Ireland for the last two years after victories for Munster and then Leinster, but defeat on successive days for the Irish sides mean it will be returning to France for the first time since three-time champions Toulouse last hoisted it in 2005.

Biarritz have endured a poor season in the French Top 14 with their seventh-place finish not enough to qualify for next season's Heineken Cup, making this victory all the more crucial.

It was a scrappy match, marred by a succession of handling errors that were not entirely explained by the heavy morning rain that made for a greasy surface.

The repeat of the 2006 final, which Munster edged 23-19 to win their first title, failed to live up to expectations but remained on a knife-edge until Biarritz pulled clear late on.

The French club started slowly, however, with Munster enjoying early success at the scrum, winning a penalty at one and disrupting their opponents on a second.

Combined with a series of knock-ons from the home side, the visitors were able to control the first 10 minutes, although full-back Paul Warwick missed a drop-goal attempt.

Karmichael Hunt and Balshaw kicked out on the full for Biarritz, while the string of dropped passes also began to afflict Munster, as Denis Hurley spilled promising possession.

Springbok centre Jean de Villiers was flattened onto the turf by Benoit August but Munster renewed their offensive and could have gone ahead in the 19th minute.

Using Hurley outside him to create a moment of uncertainty in the Biarritz defence, hooker Jerry Flannery burst into space before spotting O'Gara on his shoulder but again the pass failed to stick.

Flannery was also involved as Munster forced a crucial turnover at the breakdown on the half-hour mark and this time the move finished with a try.

Donnacha O'Callaghan marauded into the Biarritz half with a barnstorming run, the superb Alan Quinlan kept the move going and popped the ball up for Flannery, who distributed wide where David Wallace supplied the scoring pass to Earls, who trotted over beneath the sticks.

Biarritz responded with an attack of their own which finished when August was shoved into touch a metre out, but the French side finally got on the board in the 39th minute with a penalty from Yachvili, who added a second shortly into the second half.

Clever tactical kicking from Hunt kept Munster pinned back until O'Gara missed a long-range penalty, which preceded a fresh assault from the hosts.

Biarritz were beginning to turn the screw but wasted a fine chance when Arnaud Mignardi failed to spot an overlap, giving Balshaw little chance of reaching the line.

Error

But an error from Paul Warwick on 64 minutes gifted Biarritz the chance to go ahead for the first time. The full-back decided to run possession out of his own 22 but became isolated and when Tomas O'Leary prevented the ball from being released, Yachvili slotted the three points.

That meant Munster's defensive endgame had to go out of the window and chances inevitably came Biarritz's way.

Tony Buckley was pinged for picking up prop Campbell Johnstone and tossing him to one side and Yachvili calmly stretched the lead to five points.

Six more points from Yachvili followed in the closing minutes as Munster's desperation turned into a loss of discipline.

That gave the scoreline a falsely one-sided look, but Biarritz probably just about deserved to go through on the overall balance of play.

Sky Bet - Heineken Cup - Winner - Toulouse 2/5 or Biarritz 7/4