Leinster plotting Toulon's downfall
Leinster flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth has vowed to stop RC Toulon at source, as they plot their path to the European Champions Cup Final.
The Irish side must overcome the back-to-back European kings in Marseille if they are to seal their place in the Twickenham Final.
The victor of the Stade Vélodrome clash will book a date against either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Saracens for the London showdown in May.
And with Toulon's pack weighing in at 895kg, Gopperth is determined to build a blue wall.
"We are going to take a lot of lessons out of that game and a lot of positives, but we are going down to their patch and they are probably the best team in the world at the moment with all their superstars," he told the Irish Times.
"It's going to be a hell of a task but we will give it every shot.
"You've got to make your first-up shots, first-up tackles, because they are big, big men.
"They are going to run at you and if you don't make your first-up shots they are going to get in behind you and get momentum.
"Then the likes of Giteau, Mitchell, Bastareaud will just keep coming at you.
"Then when we've got the ball we've got to respect it and look after it.
"Try and move them around the pitch because they are a big unit.
"If we do those two things well then we are going to give ourselves an opportunity."
But Leinster have an ace in their pack according to Gopperth.
Rugby League convert Ben Te'o showed just how well he is adapting to the 15-aside game with a brace of tries in their defeat to the Newport Gwent Dragons.
And Gopperth reckons he will keep the Toulon defence on their toes.
"Each game he's gotten better and better,"he said.
"He's a massive threat with ball in hand, he's so powerful and he can move quickly. "
"It's about giving him the best possible opportunity we can to get him in space and let him do his thing.
"We've got to get on his shoulder, because he loves to offload.
"It's something different and if we use him well, we can use him as a threat or a decoy and it makes the defence second-guess and it's a good dynamic to have a guy like that in your backline."
Source: @ChampionsCup
