Phoney war kicks off as Toulon boss blasts O’Callaghan jibes

TOULON’S controversial owner Mourad Boudjellal has turned up the heat ahead of Munster’s must-win Heineken Cup visit to the Stade Félix Mayol in January.

Philippe Saint-André’s side defeated London Irish 38-17 on Saturday to top Pool Three and Boudjellal wasted little time in hitting back at comments made prior to the side’s last meeting in October at Thomond Park.

He said: “I remember for the first match and several Munster players, notably second row Donncha O’Callaghan, taunted us that our team only functioned as a result of money and only had mercenaries. Coming from a town like Limerick, which is financed by the IMF — that gave me a wry smile.”

Whatever about the cheap jibes, the Toulon owner maintained he was delighted with his team’s first season in the Heineken Cup and was looking forward to the clash in the New Year.

He added: “I’m happy because when we started this competition in the ‘pool of death’, I never would have thought we would be leading with just two rounds to go. Having seen where the club has come from, it’s a bit surreal to be playing this year against Munster.

“But there is a soul to this team and we are capable of carrying the big matches.”

If Toulon can beat Munster, their fate will be in their own hands when they travel to Ospreys the following week but coach Philippe Saint-André isn’t taking anything for granted “We are still outsiders because the group is so strong,” he insisted, despite the maths suggesting otherwise. “But we have a chance. We are an improving team and we have quality players who are hungry for this great competition.

“The Heineken Cup is the great testing ground in Europe. It will be a very intense period next month when we play Munster and Ospreys but the club and the town cannot wait. We all know what Munster can achieve when they need a big result in Europe so it will be a huge challenge but we are very motivated.”