Biarritz v Toulon: Teams
Toulon welcome back Mathieu Bastareaud for the Amlin Challenge Cup final with Biarritz at the Twickenham Stoop.
Last Updated: 17/05/12 6:11pm
Toulon are boosted by the return of Mathieu Bastareaud for Friday's Amlin Challenge Cup final with Biarritz at the Twickenham Stoop.
The centre has missed the last four weeks of action with a fractured hand but he returns to partner Matt Giteau in midfield.
Jonny Wilkinson will pull the strings from fly-half whilst up front Toulon field former Saracens star Kris Chesney, ex-London Irish flanker Steffon Armitage and - in his last game for the French club before he rejoins Sale - Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Dean Schofield, another former Sale stalwart, will start on the replacements bench along with former Bristol star Joe El-Abd.
Biarritz - who despite their pedigree have never won a European trophy - will be hoping to make up for a dismal Top 14 campaign in which they finished ninth, and they must win to book a place in the Heineken Cup for a 13th successive season.
Double goal
Imanol Harinordoquy captains the side from number eight, and he said: "It's a game with a double goal for us. A victory would give us a new title and a ticket for the Heineken Cup next year.
"It would a great reward for our squad, which has suffered this season. It's a huge game with a huge amount at stake and we are going to work as hard as we can to win it.
"Friday night is a final. It's a one-off game and anything can happen."
Much depends on scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili who will have to match Wilkinson in the kicking stakes.
Iain Balshaw, the former England man, starts at full-back for but Biarritz travel without versatile back Benoit Baby who has a broken hand.
Club president Serge Blanco said: "As it always is with Biarritz, we respect Toulon and we know that Friday will be a huge game, a big battle."
Biarritz: 15 I Balshaw, 14 T Ngwenya, 13 J Barraque, 12 D Traille, 11 D Haylett-Petty, 10 J Peyrelongue, 9 D Yachvili; 1 Y Watremez, 2 A Heguy, 3 E Van Staden, 4 J Thion, 5 P Taele, 6 W Lauret, 7 B Guyot, 8 I Harinordoquy
Replacements: 16 B August, 17 S Marconnet, 18 F Gomez Kodela, 19 E Lund, 20 T Gray, 21 M Bosch, 22 C Gimenez, 23 I Bolakoro
Toulon: 15 B Lapeyre, 14 A Palisson, 13 M Bastareaud, 12 M Giteau, 11 D Smith, 10 J Wilkinson, 9 S Tillous-Borde; 1 E Lewis-Roberts, 2 S Bruno, 3 C Hayman, 4 C Samson, 5 K Chesney, 6 P Gunther, 7 S Armitage, 8 J van Niekerk
Replacements: 16 J Orioli, 17 L Emmanuelli, 18 D Kubriashvili, 19 J El Abd, 20 G Messina, 21 D Schofield, 22 F Cibray, 23 J Suta