Pelous holds the key
April 22 2008
Toulouse second row Fabien Pelous will have his work cut out on Saturday against a solid London Irish pack, but the veteran French international believes that Toulouse "have the keys" to achieve success in the Heineken cup.
Unlike team-mate Bryon Kelleher, who has preferred to talk-down Toulouse's chances, Pelous is confident that his side have all the arms necessary to go all the way.
A bad day at the office against Clermont last weekend hasn't fazed the 34 -year-old who has taken the defeat in his stride.
"It was one of those days for Stade Toulousain - unlucky - we didn't play badly but didn't have much success," the former French captain told rugbyrama.
"No luck either with regards to Vincent Clerc's injury. But we've moved on. This week will be difficult too, with a lot of off-field obligations."
In a long career, there aren't many teams France's most capped player hasn't played against and he still has fresh memories of London Irish.
"We played them in the last two seasons in the European Cup. We'll have to be vigilant because they're a team that create a lot of opportunities," he said.
"We'll have to be on our toes defensively to match them because this year they have a new weapon; a physicality in competing for the ball that looks impressive.
"On our side, we're going to have to cope with all our injuries. But I think Stade Toulousain has 30 players that are capable of performing.
"Our potential will be reduced, but we will form a team capable of winning on Saturday.
The London Irish locks were outstanding in their quarter-final win and Perpignan paid the price. Pelous reckons Toulouse will be able to come up with a plan to get the better of the Exiles in the line-outs.
"We've started studying the videos and I'm sure that forwards coach Yannick Bru is going to break it all down and find solutions for us to be able to counter the two big second-rowers," he explained.
"We'll have the keys on Saturday, we'll just have to use them properly. Just last Sunday, against Clermont, we scored our only try with a ball we stole from their line-out."
Pelous admits that the possible absence of Mike Catt is good news for the French side, who will also have to do without the services of a few high profile back-line players like Florian Fritz, Clément Poitrenaud and Gaffie du Toit.
"Having less options when choosing your team is always a handicap. We're not going to complain if Mike Catt doesn't play. His kicking is still of a very high quality," said the three-time Heineken cup winner.
"A special relationship has grow between the European Cup and Stade Toulousain. We've been in every edition, we have the record for both the number of matches and the number finals played.
"We have an exceptional history in this competition which always creates a big event. I always enjoy playing in it.
"It's always a good test and an opening to other countries and other styles of play."