Toulouse v Harlequins preview: French juggernaut to edge Champions Cup thriller and continue their pursuit of a sixth title
Toulouse captain Antoine Dupont and Harelquins fly-half Marcus Smith in action during the Champions Cup.
Then there were four. Toulouse and Harlequins collide in the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup at Le Stadium on Sunday.
Quins break new ground, having reached the final four of the tournament for the first time in their history, but they face the daunting task of tackling the competition’s most successful team in Toulouse.
The five-time champions also have a favourable record against the Premiership side, winning five of their previous six meetings in the tournament, including a 47-19 victory at the Stoop during the pool stage.
The odds are against Harlequins but often that is when the Famous Quarters tend to produce their best, a case in point being their stunning 42-41 victory over Bordeaux in the quarter-final. Quins will also fancy their chances, having knocked over Toulouse the last time they faced off in France, but that was back in 2011, claiming a 31-24 victory.
While Toulouse possesses many of the same strengths as Bordeaux, they are an entirely different beast, particularly in their rugby-mad town, and Sunday’s clash promises to be a mighty clash between the two outfits.
One team is chasing a maiden title while the other is out to add to their glorious history with a stunning sixth crown.
Team news
Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola has named 14 internationals in his starting XV to tackle Harlequins with Blair Kinghorn notably selected at full-back.
Kinghorn gets the nod over Thomas Ramos – who recently returned from injury – in the number 15 jumper and he is joined in the back three by Los Pumas’ Juan Cruz Mallia and France’s Matthis Lebel. Pita Ahki starts alongside rising star Paul Costes in the centres, the latter producing a man-of-the-match performance in the quarter-finals.
Antoine Dupont captains the side from scrum-half with Romain Ntamack at fly-half.
Jack Willis starts in the number seven jumper with French internationals Alexandre Roumat (number eight) and Francois Cros (number six) completing the loose trio.
Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament start in the locks with the all-Les Bleus tight five featuring Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka and Dorian Aldegheri in the front-row.
Toulouse have also opted for the conventional 5-3 split on the bench as Julien Marchand, Rodrigue Neti, Joel Merkler, Richie Arnold and Mathis Castro Ferreira cover the forward positions with Paul Graou, Santiago Chocobares and Ramos the backs.
Harlequins director of rugby Billy Millard has backed the same starting XV from the side’s Premiership victory over Northampton Saints last weekend, making just one alternation to his bench.
James Chisholm comes onto the bench in the place of Tom Lawday with the remainder of the team unchanged.
That means that Tyrone Green, Louis Lynagh and Cadan Murley combine yet again in a threatening back-three division with Andre Esterhuizen and Luke Northmore in the midfield. Danny Care and Marcus Smith continue in the half-backs in what is a potent Harlequins backline.
In the pack, the excellent Alex Dombrandt is joined by flankers Will Evans and Chandler Cunningham-South in the back-row with Stephan Lewies skippering the side from lock alongside fellow South African Irne Herbst.
Fin Baxter handed the starting loosehead prop – Joe Marler is named on the bench – with Jack Walker the starting hooker and Will Collier the tighthead prop.
Sam Riley, Marler, Simon Kerrod, George Hammond and Chisholm make up the forward replacements in the 5-3 split while Will Porter, Jarrod Evans and Oscar Beard will look to make an impact in the backs.
Where the game will be won
Toulouse are an all-court threat and can cause Harlequins all kinds of issues. Mola has a potent pack at his disposal with French internationals littered through his squad as well as the always-excellent England international Willis.
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That forward pack lays the foundation for a truly lethal attack as Stade Toulousain have gained more metres (565) and made more line breaks (8.7) per game than any other side in this season’s Champions Cup.
Toulouse are favourites heading into the fixture, and if Quins are to produce another upset, they will need to stop the French juggernaut at source winning the gain-line battle and the set pieces. If they are successful in doing that or at least achieve parity, as they did against Bordeaux, then they certainly have a chance at an upset.
Last time they met
What they said
Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson described his side as “pretty decent underdogs” ahead of the clash as they eye a maiden Champions Cup final appearance.
“This club has never been in a Champions Cup semi-final, and we are fully aware that we will go there as pretty decent underdogs, but what an opportunity that we have,” he said.
“This is the business end of the season. These are the games you want to be involved in.
“We are into May, and we are in the semi-final of the Champions Cup and fighting to be in the league play-offs. There is one other English team (Northampton) in that same position, no-one else.
“We are excited about it, we are not seeing it as something you have got to endure. You have got to throw the kitchen sink at it.
“We need to be aware of what they bring and how we deal with it, but we have also got to put our identity on this game because we are going to have to score tries to win.
“We are not going to go there and go three points, six points, nine points – that’s not going to happen.”
Meanwhile, flanker Willis spoke of his hunger to be successful with Toulouse again after winning the Top 14 with the side last season.
“We want to win things and I think that is the thing I love about being here. I fell in love with that the minute I got here,” he said.
“I was fortunate enough to win the Top 14 last year here and I think that feeling certainly didn’t feel like I had fulfilled everything by winning that.
“All it made me want to do was want to win it again, and win more.
“I think the structure they put in place here is incredible – from the president all the way down to us players – and the standards are always kept high.
“With the standard of playing and coaching here it really tests you as a player because it is so competitive.
“You have got to be at your absolute best to be getting picked and I love having that pressure on me week to week.”
Players to watch
The two outfits are jampacked with superstar names but perhaps none more so than Toulouse skipper Antoine Dupont. While he has split his playing duties with Toulouse and the France sevens team this season, he has been sensational for his club both at scrum-half and filling in at fly-half. He has been directly involved in more tries than any other player during this Champions Cup campaign (9) and ranks amongst the top performers for offloads, metres gained, and carries. He is simply world-class.
Staying in the half-backs and Toulouse have welcomed the return of Romain Ntamack after his lengthy spell on the sidelines, which resulted in him missing the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He quickly got back to good form for Toulouse upon his return, bringing a calm head to the lethal backline, running the attack wonderfully, seemingly always choosing the right option. He is a player who thrives on the big occasions, and his inclusion in the starting XV makes for a stellar head-to-head with Harlequins’ Marcus Smith.
As already mentioned, Mola has a sensational forward pack in front of their dazzling backs, and one player that will be leading the charge for Toulouse is gargantuan lock Emmanuel Meafou. The heavyweight second-rower is an imposing specimen that regularly gets over the gain line with the ball in hand and moves the point of the attack with swift offloads. With hard workers like Cros and Roumat in the pack, Meafou is afforded the freedom to wreak havoc on the opposition defence and expect more of the same on Sunday.
Harlequins pulled off a fantastic bit of business swooping for Chandler Cunningham-South following the demise of London Irish and the brilliant blindside flanker and has only got better as the season has progressed. He was instrumental in their victory over Bordeaux in the quarter-finals and will be raring to produce a similar effort against Toulouse. The entire Quins back-row has been in fine fettle this season, and the likes of Alex Dombrandt and Will Evans will also be crucial in slowing the Toulouse attack down as much as possible, having shone in that area of the game in the Premiership and Champions Cup.
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There is an enticing battle in the centres as Andre Esterhuizen squares off against Ahki in the number 12 channel. The pair are both abrasive figures in the backline but also provide fantastic distribution. Esterhuizen is returning to South Africa after this season and will look to finish his time in the quarters on a high and is doing so with his recent excellent form.
Finally, if Quins are to upset the odds on Sunday, then much of their success will come through their marvellous number 10 Marcus Smith, who has been sensational in open play and off the tee in the Champions Cup. In fact, he has the best kicking success rate, missing just three of his 31 shots at goal, but has also been incredibly elusive, beating 20 defenders and has controlled proceedings wonderfully all season.
Prediction
Never say never when it comes to Harlequins as the Londoners have a real knack of rocking the boat. But this time around, it just looks to be a step too far for the quarters who face an absolute juggernaut of a side that has been there and done that. Toulouse has the experience of knockout matches of this magnitude on their side, and with a side full-stocked with superstars, it’s hard to look past them booking their place in the final with a victory of at least seven points.
The teams
Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Juan Cruz Mallia, 13 Paul Costes, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Emmanuel Meafou, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Mathis Castro Ferreira, 21 Paul Graou, 22 Santiago Chocobares, 23 Thomas Ramos
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Stephan Lewies (c), 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 George Hammond, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard
Venue: Le Stadium, Toulouse
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)