Bru wary of Munster threat

Toulouse coach Yannick Bru admits Munster will be in far better shape than his team heading into Saturday’s Heineken Cup final in Cardiff.

A congested fixture list and injuries to key personnel, such as France winger Vincent Clerc, have hampered Toulouse’s run-up to the final.

Munster, meanwhile, have had the luxury of resting a host of their best players for their Celtic League matches as they fine-tune their preparations for the Millennium Stadium showpiece.

Bru, the former Les Bleus hooker who is now on the coaching staff of the French giants, maintains his men are battling against the odds as they attempt to lift the Heineken Cup for the fourth time.

“In the Celtic League, Munster play very few of their first-choice team – they give a lot of recovery time to their players,” he said.

“They work like their national team, and prepare for the Heineken Cup like the Ireland team prepare for their international matches.

“We feel they are helped a little more by their domestic calendar. That (the calendar) is the biggest bugbear of all the French teams who are involved in the final rounds of both competitions.

“In a post-World Cup season, it is a real marathon to try to battle on two fronts.

“Since our quarter-final win over Cardiff, you must take into account the run of matches we have had and the injuries to have befallen us.

“Although we haven’t always played our leading players, if they haven’t started they have been replacements. They have been part of the team; warming up, thinking, sleeping, dreaming and breathing rugby.

“It has been difficult.”

Toulouse’s injury situation has eased slightly but they still have a raft of important players unavailable for Saturday.

France full-back Clement Poitrenaud (ankle) is still out injured, as are Clerc (knee ligaments), Jean-Francois Montauriol (shoulder) and Julien Ledevedec (knee).

New Zealand scrum-half Byron Kelleher is nursing a sore thigh that makes him a doubt for the match, while Tonga number eight Finau Maka has not travelled for personal reasons.

The Toulouse squad flew to Cardiff on Thursday ahead of the final.