Toulon ‘absolutely chomping at the bit’ to secure Challenge Cup
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Fly-half Dan Biggar says RC Toulon are raring to go ahead of their EPCR Challenge Cup final against Glasgow Warriors in Dublin on Friday as they look to clinch a trophy that has eluded them over the years.
The three-time Heineken Champions Cup winners have reached the EPCR Challenge Cup final four times but have fallen to defeat on each occasion.
The most recent came last season when they were beaten 30-12 by Lyon in Marseille, and although Biggar only joined Toulon last October, he understands how keen the squad and director of rugby Pierre Mignoni are to avoid a repeat of that failure.
“From speaking to a lot of the players who played last year, it was very much that in a two-horse race they were lucky to come second, from what I could gather,” the three-time British & Irish Lion said.
“They said it was a really tough afternoon, nothing went right. I think they thought ‘final in Marseille, favourites, just down the road’, they thought they could just turn up and get the job done.
“There’s been talk of it. Pierre has in particular spoken about it. Obviously, the club is littered with trophies throughout the period they were successful, but it’s been a while since they’ve won anything.
“The reference to never winning this tournament has definitely been found and Pierre is absolutely chomping at the bit to get this trophy in the cabinet.
“I think there’s a huge focus from the club of realising that we’ve lost a few finals, we haven’t won a trophy for a while, and I think this club needs to be winning trophies.
“Hopefully this can be a start to getting back to those days.”
Toulon retain an outside chance of reaching the TOP 14 play-offs heading into the final round of the regular season in a fortnight, and Biggar says that although the club are not prioritising a single competition, the allure of a trophy will mean they head into the EPCR Challenge Cup final all guns blazing.
“What next weekend gives us is an opportunity to put a trophy in the bag,” he stated. “The club have never won this competition, albeit they’ve been very successful in the Champions Cup and TOP 14.
“We can add the club’s name to the history of the competition by winning it as well. That’s really important for the coaches, for the president and everyone associated with the club.
“There’s absolutely no priority on what’s more important, but when you get to a final, you don’t want to be losing – put it that way. That’s going to be a huge priority for the club, to put a trophy in the cabinet.”
Biggar went on to highlight the threat first time EPCR finalists Glasgow will pose at the Aviva Stadium and assured that Toulon will not underestimate their opponents despite their contrasting pedigree.
“To get a trophy in the bag [would be great] and also be part of a big occasion, a European final weekend, a great stadium, a great place to play rugby.
“Two really good teams are going to be going at it. If it stays dry, it could be a cracker for running rugby. Both teams like to play and have got exciting players in their team. It’s got all the ingredients to be a really good game.
“I watched [Glasgow’s] game against Scarlets. I thought they were very impressive. I think they’ve been impressive all throughout the year.
“The way they play, they’ve got a good balance. Obviously, their maul is very strong, they’ve scored a lot of tries from driving mauls this year.
“But they also play a lot of rugby as well. From our point of view, we know we can’t give players time and space on the ball – Glasgow have got a lot of good players at the minute.
“There’s absolutely no doubt from our point of view that we’re in for a serious game next week against a very, very good side.”
