Fitness problems ease for Toulouse

THE injury problems at Toulouse appeared to ease yesterday ahead of their Heineken Cup semi-final against Munster in France on Saturday.

Emile Ntamack damaged his right shoulder as Toulouse trounced Pau 55-33 at the weekend in the French Championship, but club sources last night claimed he will be fit for the Munster game.

“Emile has had a problem with that shoulder over a period of time. Sometimes it is bad, sometimes it is good but he always seems to make it back for the big games and we expect him to play against Munster,” said a club spokesperson yesterday.

Veteran out-half Yann Delaigue was another injury victim against Pau but, again, he is expected to line out against Munster.

Delaigue damaged a thigh muscle and today undergoes a scan to reveal the extent of the damage.

Still, he remains upbeat about the possibility of playing.

“It doesn't feel that bad now, 24 hours afterwards.

“I don't have any real doubt but that I will play in this game. I certainly want to be involved.”

Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, the club's first-choice scrum-half, could also be back in the selection process. He has been out with a thigh strain since early this month but is now running freely and is expected to be named in the team.

There is no guarantee, however, that Trevor Brennan will get his chance to wreak havoc on the Irish province.

Brennan was injured for the match with Pau and his place was taken by Finau Maka who, by all accounts, made a huge impression. Even if Brennan is fit, French sources suggest Maka will retain his place in the side.

But better news for the 1996 champions of Europe was that the versatile Frédéric Michalak had an excellent game on Saturday. He started at scrum-half but moved to fly-half after 25 minutes when Delaigue was brought off as a precaution and led his team from the front, providing them with direction and foresight, and adding 21 points to boot.

“It's great to be in the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup - it's the first time for me so I'm enjoying the experience,” Michalak said.

“The fact that we earned a home quarter-final was very important but Munster are one of the best, if not the best team in Europe so it's going to be tougher than our previous matches.

“They beat Leicester at their home ground so they are full of confidence and they are a team capable of coming to Toulouse and winning.

“I don't feel the revenge factor that some of my team may feel after losing to Munster in Bordeaux because I wasn't playing at the time.

“But it's important to win this match because we want to go all the way to the final of this competition.”

Toulouse centre Yannick Jauzion, who missed the first half of the season due to injury, has also come back to form, finishing his game on Saturday with a perfectly-timed kick for French international wing Vincent Clerc to chase and score.

“I wasn't here three years ago but one of the reasons for coming to Toulouse was to win titles so it's good to reach this stage,” the international centre said.

“Being in the semi-finals reflects the hard work we put in to get a home quarter-final and the game against Northampton Saints shows the high standard of the competition at this stage.

“Munster will be a harder prospect,” Jauzion added. “We are looking forward to a huge match in front of 35,000 people - those are precious moments for a team.

“The match against Munster in 2000 dominates the thoughts of the coach and the players that were around at that time - they talk about it quite a lot and they hate what happened on that occasion.

“All the players that played in that game can't wait to get out and play against Munster on Saturday afternoon, to try to wipe out the bad memories they have of that day in Bordeaux three years ago.”

Ntamack added: “There is a very special flavour to being on the top of Europe's roof, so to speak, but nothing has been achieved yet. We are capable of going all the way - but we are not the only ones.

“Perpignan, Leinster and Munster all think they want it more than the rest. If we all have the same amount of talent, we must have more desire than the others.”