Castaignede warns lacklustre Biarritz

FRENCH international Thomas Castaignede believes Biarritz must improve on their semi-final performance if they are to defeat Munster in next month’s Heineken Cup decider.

Biarritz, were unimpressive in Saturday's 18-9 win over Bath in San Sebastian with Dimitri Yachvili kicking five penalties and Damien Traille landing a drop goal.

Castaignede knows that a better performance will be required to deny Declan Kidney's side European glory. "Biarritz will have to raise their game if they are to lift the trophy for the first time. On the weekend's showing, the only area they might have a slight edge is in the scrum. Munster's lineout is dynamic and well organised, and their backs were perfect not one mistake, wings who can burst through anywhere, an ice-cool full-back and no hiccups when Rob Henderson came on at centre," he said.

"There's one other area that may make the difference: the number of games the teams have played. Munster will be playing about their 20th match and will be fresher physically and mentally, while Biarritz may well be pushing their 40th. That might just be enough."

Castaignede continued: "Munster were truly impressive on Sunday in a match that was so nearly faultless that, as an armchair viewer, I didn't want it to stop. It was half an hour, I estimated, until the first scrum, which says a lot about the handling skills of the two sides. Where Munster truly shone, however, was in their ability to stop Leinster developing the game they wanted to," he wrote in The Guardian.

And he expects some intriguing battles to be waged in the Millennium Stadium on May 20.

"Looking at individuals, the man who stands out for Biarritz is Dimitri Yachvili, the executioner of the English yet again on Saturday. He is such a smooth operator, he never looks flustered. It's as if he's playing in slippers. He is totally impervious to pressure.

"For Munster it's hard to choose one guy who stands out. Paul O'Connell is probably the best second-row in the world at the moment, but at hooker Jerry Flannery is flying all over the field. Peter Stringer had one of his better games at scrum-half he looks as if he will burst from every breakdown but he was always where it mattered.

"The man who really made the difference, though, was Ronan O'Gara. There was never any doubt who would win the contest between his coolness and Felipe Contepomi's instinctive play. Questions were being asked about him in the Six Nations, but he has the answers; now he has to do it again.