HEC Weekend

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Any thoughts anyone? I shall post a detailed preview either tonight or tomorrow. I do think Leinster will get hammered though and Munster should be to good for USAP who just don't travel well at all. Quite pleased with my record in the HEC this year - of the 72 Group Games I predicted 62 correct. Evidence available.

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Re: HEC Weekend All Ireland internationals have returned from Six Nations fully fit and ready to go, including Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy.

D’Arcy – who becomes the seventh Leinster player to achieve the landmark behind past greats Shane Byrne and Victor Costello as well as current colleagues Reggie Corrigan, Brian O’Meara, Girvan Dempsey and Denis Hickie - will line up at centre alongside Brian O’Driscoll in a strong back line which includes the tournament’s top points scorer Felipe Contepomi. In the pack Reggie Corrigan partners Ireland ‘A’ hooker Brian Blaney and Will Green while Keith Gleeson will form a lively and aggressive backrow alongside Cameron Jowitt and Jamie Heaslip.

There is also one player in the starting XV who knows what it is like to beat Toulouse, with prop Will Green having been a part of the Wasps team that beat Toulouse in the Twickenham final two years ago.

"I am sure none of the Toulouse players who played in the 2004 Heineken Cup final and are still in the side will be looking back to that day – and neither will I be doing that," said Green, whose team will be cheered on by 5,000 travelling Leinster fans.

"This is a totally new scenario. For one thing Toulouse have won the Heineken Cup since then, beating Stade Français last May, and for another I am in a new squad and a new environment.

"No-one can deny that Toulouse are a very good side, a real class act, but there are a number of teams in the quarter-finals who are capable of winning the tournament this season and that is what makes the Heineken Cup so very special.

But Green already has that memory of Twickenham to treasure, from the year in which Rob Howley's try with the last move of the game sealed a famous victory.

"Just how special it is to me can be gauged by the fact that I have no hesitation in saying that that day at Twickenham provides my best rugby memory – bar none," reflected Green.

"I won four England caps but winning the Heineken Cup with Wasps supersedes anything I did at international level. Winning the Heineken Cup was done with my mates and that is what made it such a fantastic achievement.

"Now I want to do it all over again with Leinster and allow them to experience just what winning the trophy feels like. It is simply tremendous."

Toulouse qualified for the quarter-finals as the No 1 seeds, Leinster going through into the last eight as the second best runners-up thanks to a superb 35-23 triumph at Bath Rugby in Round Six.

Toulouse coach Guy Noves has also named a near full-strength team, bar the long-term injuries affecting Gareth Thomas, Nicolas Jeanjean and Benoit Baby.

Yannick Jauzion is back from his toe injury and will partner Florian Fritz in the centre.

Up front, William Servat is still ruled out with a long-term back problem, and so 19-year-old Virgil Lacombe is on the bench, having been awarded his first-ever professional contract last week.

Flanker Aidan McCullen will not get the chance to play against his former team-mates, also because of an injury, while back-row Finau Maka and prop Gregory Menkarska are both in the matchday 22, but are doubtful. Noves is famed in France for changing his line-ups at the final second, and so he could yet spring a surprise.

Toulouse : 15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Finau Maka, 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Fabien Pelous, 4 Trevor Brennan, 3 Omar Hasan, 2 Yannick Bru, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux. Replacements: 16 Virgil Lacombe, 17 Gregory Menkarska, 18 Romain Millo-Chlusky, 19 Gregory Lamboley, 20 Jean-Frédéric Dubois, 21 Maleli Kunavore, 22 Maxime Médard.

Leinster Squad: 15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O’Driscoll ©, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Guy Easterby, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Keith Gleeson, 6 Cameron Jowitt, 5 Malcolm O’Kelly, 4 Bryce Williams, 3 Will Green, 2 Brian Blaney, 1 Reggie Corrigan. Replacements: 16 David Blaney, 17 Ronan McCormack, 18 Niall Ronan, 19 Eric Miller, 20 Brian O’Riordan, 21 Kieran Lewis, 22 Rob Kearney.

Date: Saturday, April 1 Venue: Le Stadium, Toulouse Kick-off: 16:00 (14:00 GMT) Referee: Dave Pearson (England) Touch judges: Chris White, Bob Mullis (Engalnd) Assessor: Patrick Robin (France) Television match official: Graham Hughes (England) I really can't see Leinster getting close to Toulouse at all. The Cap is +12 to Leinster and unless they all play out of their skins - to a man I think that Toulouse can easily over come this margin, in fact, I would say the cap should represent more of a +18-22. Pretty Good value for me and I shall be having a punt.