This being the last week of the domestic season, mind games between the rival New Zealand coaches, desperate to capture the Rabo Direct Pro 12 title, go up a notch.

For Joe Schmidt it’s about leaving Leinster without the stain of three consecutive runner-up finishes in league finals. That would represent the only black mark in an otherwise phenomenal tenure.

For Mark Anscombe it’s about backing up Ulster’s perfect start to a campaign, which faltered during the illogical international window and was almost ruined by a chronically overcrowded infirmary.

This week his only concern is All Black tighthead prop John Afoa’s hamstring.

“Yeah, he’s progressing nicely,” said Anscombe. “It’s not a tear, just a slight strain, just been niggling and in the position he plays you got to be careful it doesn’t go.”

Leinster also refuse to rule Seán O’Brien out of contention, despite a knee injury that prompted British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland to say on Monday his club season was over.

Gatland went so far as to state O’Brien would be doing well to be fit for the Queensland Reds game on June 8th. And that he would be in Lions camp henceforth.

‘Better condition’

Those comments angered the Leinster machine. Sure enough, late Monday night we got the following “update” from the Lions after “consultation” with Leinster: “Given the proximity to the tour we are grateful to Leinster for being able to assess Seán. He is in better condition than we thought and he continues his recovery at pace.”

With nothing definitive conjecture reigns. Afoa is expected to play, O’Brien is not. Either that’s the case or Gatland was telling fibs. But why would he?

All told, it left a bad taste in the mouth.

Chris Henry is expected to recover from a knee strain/knock to start Saturday but Luke Marshall and Craig Gilroy have been put on ice due to a triple-concussion and a groin strain respectively.

Expect Afoa to be added to the starting XV that beat the Scarlets 28-17 on May 10th, with Declan Fitzpatrick making way.

Iain Henderson will probably be benched as Anscombe goes with Robbie Diack on the blindside and Dan Tuohy partnering Johann Muller in the secondrow.

Ulster’s impact options look inferior to Leinster’s, although Henderson and scrumhalf Paul Marshall can arrive if more urgency is demanded.

Brian O’Driscoll will return after recovering from a back spasm.

‘Good shape’

“Yeah, yeah I’m feeling miles better this week,” he told the Second Captains podcast. “At a push I could have played on Friday but with this coming up and the next six weeks I would hopeful I will be in good shape to take the pitch.”

O’Driscoll left us in no doubt about Leinster’s feeling of unfinished business. “The previous year against Munster when we won the Heineken the week before I think we just got out played but I think we threw it away last year (against the Ospreys). It really took the gloss off winning back to back Heineken Cups. I hope we are going to use that hurt.”

On the flip side, Anscombe’s men will use an even fresher open wound.

Their comprehensive Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Saracens in Twickenham on April 6th stalled any talk of Ulster progress.

They didn’t make any, but there were plenty of excuses. Muller tore his bicep in the opening minutes, Afoa had just come off a long haul flight, Marshall was knocked out for the third time in a month and Tommy Bowe wasn’t fit enough to start.

“If we had the preparation we’ve had this week I would have been a lot happier going into the Saracens game,” said Anscombe. “We’ve got no excuses, if we don’t do the job Saturday we will have been beaten by the better team.”

Toulon 16 Clermont Auvergne 15: Did Clermont Auvergne freeze once again in sight of the winning post? That’s the accusation they’ll face as they contrived to lose a match they should have won.

They played the better rugby for most of the game but that’ll be of little consolation as the Heineken Cup will be returning to France with Toulon.

Clermont looked far more dangerous in possession and if they managed to introduce a little more composure and precision, especially in the Toulon 22, might have won this match in a canter.

They will also rue the fact that they gave away too many penalties, failing to react to Alain Rolland’s officiating at ruck time. It cost them possession and position and acted as a safety valve in allowing Toulon to escape from their own 22.

The latter took their chances, or more accurately the one try scoring opportunity that presented itself, and otherwise relied on the boot of their captain Jonny Wilkinson. Toulon, Mathieu Bastareaud was superb in attack and defence, showed grit and character but it shouldn’t have been enough to suffice.

The opening 40 minutes was conducted principally between the two 22-metre lines, a series of collisions where players from both sides sought out each other rather than space. The honourable exceptions were Clermont winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and centre Wesley Fofana, whose footwork, pace and angles of running allowed them to make several line breaks.

Unfortunately their colleagues couldn’t sustain the momentum, sometimes it was handling, on other occasions they fell foul of referee Rolland, who penalised them a handful of times for not releasing after the tackle. Fofana is a pleasure to watch, his gliding acceleration and appreciation of angles a constant threat to the opposition defence.

The closest Clermont came to scoring a try in that period came when Toulon wing Rudi Wulf was turned over by Sivivatu at a ruck on the halfway line. Fofana and Julienn Bonnaire combined to put Brock James scampering up the touchline. The Australian chipped over the top and outpaced Toulon’s Chris Masoe and Juan Fernandez Lobbe but the dead-ball line won the race by a nanosecond as James grounded it on the whitewash.

Toulon huffed and puffed but there was precious little subtlety to their patterns and they chose Wilkinson’s boot as their main attacking gambit.

Clermont scrumhalf Morgan Parra kicked a penalty on three minutes and Wilkinson responded in kind after 12 to provide the only tangible rewards in scoring terms.

Clermont lost a great attacking position following a break by Sivivatu when Lee Byrne was penalised for not releasing, but Mathieu Bastareaud, who made the tackle certainly didn’t release the player, before trying to secure possession. There were two offences, the second one spotted first.

If the first half was sterile on the scoreboard then the second came to life from the opening stanza.

After Fofana had snaffled yardage on one touchline, Clermont moved play to the other side of the pitch. Rougerie fended off Danie Rossouw rather easily and released Napolioni Nalaga. The big Fijian brushed off the tackle of Sebastien Tillous Borde and through another attempt from Armitage to score in the corner; it was a great finish. Parra couldn’t add the conversion, and although Wilkinson reduced the deficit with a penalty, the favourites Clermont crossed for their second try.

Rougerie was again the catalyst, muscling Wilkinson aside as he raced on to a gorgeously weighted chip from James. He rode a weak tackle from Tillous Borde and released the supporting James, who covered the final 20 metres to the try line. Parra added the conversion and at 15-6 Clermont were within touching distance of winning a tournament their rugby merited; and not just this season.

But they continued to transgress at ruck time, the penalty count 5-0 at this stage, and when they were penalised again on 60 minutes, Wilkinson reduced the deficit to six points.

The one question mark that has lingered about this Clermont team is whether they have the mental capacity to keep playing to the final whistle. The game’s pivotal moment arrived on 63 minutes when Lobbe turned over the ball at a ruck after Fofana had been isolated in the tackle.

The Argentinean’s overhead pass to Armitage sent the England international racing clear and he could enjoy a mini-celebration before dotting down. Wilkinson kicked an excellent conversion and Toulon, remarkably, were in front.

It was the first try they have scored in the knock-out stages of this season’s tournament.

Clermont’s resolve was to face an acid test but as Parra, Rougerie and James headed for the sideline, leadership and composure went with them. They did manage to get field position in the dying throes of the contest, twice, but replacement David Skrela bizarrely went into rucks when he should have been dropping into the pocket to attempt a drop goal.

They had the field position inside the Toulon 22 but it wasn’t until they were a little further out that the drop goal was attempted and charged down. The game ended with a forward pass and a handling error on the touchline 10 metres from the Toulon line.

They deserve credit for the manner in which they hung in a game that appeared at various stages of the second half to be disappearing over the horizon.

It offered a reminder that if a team can stay on Clermont’s coat-tails they may be occasionally rewarded. It was a day when the a team rightly considered the best in Europe, could not deliver on that label.

Scoring sequence 3 mins: Parra penalty, 3-0; 12: Wilkinson penalty, 3-3. Half-time: 3-3. 41: Nalaga try, 8-3; 45: Wilkinson penalty, 8-6; 47: James try, conversion, 15-8; 60: Wilkinson penalty, 15-9; 64: Armitage try, Wilkinson conversion, 15-16.

Clermont Auvergne: L Byrne; S Sivivatu, A Rougerie (capt), W Fofana, N Nalaga; B James, M Parra; T Domingo, B Kayser, D Zirakashvili; N Hines, J Cudmore; J Bonnaire, G Vosloo, D Chouly. Replacements: V Debaty for Domingo 65 mins; Ti Paulo for Bruno 65 mins; J Bardy for Vosloo 67 mins; R King for Rougerie 67 mins; L Radosavijevic for Parra 71 mins; D Skrela for James 73 mins; C Ric for Zirakashvili 73 mins.

Toulon: D Armitage; R Wulf, M Bastareaud, M Giteau, A Palisson; J Wilkinson (capt), S Tilous Borde; A Sheridan, S Bruno, C Hayman; B Botha, N Kennedy; D Rossouw, J Fernandez Lobbe, C Masoe. Replacements: J van Niekerk for Rossouw 50 mins; F Michalak for Tillous Borde 50 mins; JC Orioli for Bruno 50 mins; G Jenkins for Sheridan 61 mins; J Suta for Botha 67 mins; S Armitage for Masoe 67 mins; D Kubriashvili for Hayman 76 mins. Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).

Pre/Post Match Drinks Ned Keenan’s Traditional Irish Pub

It’s easy to see how Vern Cotter and Joe Schmidt worked as a partnership. Unannounced and apologetically, we came at the 51-year-old New Zealander in the lead-up to the Heineken Cup final. He answered our questions straight, providing as much time as we needed.

We start with Aurelien Rougerie. The veteran centre is to ASM Clermont Auvergne what Paul O’Connell is to Munster. Dyed in the wool, leader.

Injured. A hamstring tear, sustained in their dismissal of Toulouse four weeks ago, Clermont’s captain is unlikely to recover for the Toulon collision in Dublin on Saturday.

Their South African recruits, flanker Gerhard Vosloo and prop Daniel Kotze, are further concerns.

“Don’t think I’ll get all three of those guys back,” said Cotter. “Hopefully I’ll get one or two but I’m reasonably doubtful.”

“Aurelien is 50 50. He ran a bit today. We’ll put him on the paddock Thursday with the medics making the decision for us.”

Bastareaud watch

That means Regan King will probably be on Mathieu Bastareaud watch. A one-time All Black, King ripped it up against Munster, somewhat easing the loss of the Clermont’s most iconic sportsman.

“It would be very disappointing for him to miss out but we have been able to rotate. We played the semi-final without him, as we did the quarter-final without Brock James. We’ll adapt if we have to.”

Candaian bruiser Jamie Cudmore (shoulder), the giant Vincent Debaty (thigh) and outstanding Napolioni Nalaga (ankle) are fit to play.

Sitiveni Sivivatu may have rediscovered his devastating All Black form of late, but it’s his fellow Fijian winger that leads all the statistics. Nalaga is the competition’s top try scorer with seven in eight games, top carrier (94), most metres (667), clean breaks (13), defenders beaten (26).

Cotter also has a humongous pack of forwards at his disposal. Toulon are bigger. Bakkies Botha facing off against Cudmore and Nathan Hines makes this, the fourth all-French European decider, the final of enforcers.

“They apply constant pressure, they never let up, there are no surprises with these players, everybody knows them.

“For us, it is about being able to get fast ball, play a high tempo, keep them moving. That’s our basic game plan.”

Keep up the pace

So, keep up the pace and Clermont win, get dragged into a sumo wrestle and Jonny Wilkinson will kick Toulon onto the podium? “They are a very physical team, the most physical team we’ve come up against. They dominate and then create space with Matt Giteau excellent at seeing gaps and exploiting them. It is generated by a very strong go forward from their pack and Bastareaud in midfield.”

It is put to Cotter that the pressure could get to Clermont. Against Munster in the semi-final they returned for the second half a pale shadow of the marauding, intimidating men who dominated the opening stanza.

“Subconsciously, I think we got a little careless. We didn’t apply pressure on them constantly when we got in front. They scored a well worked try. They put pressure on us and got a reward for that. Then the game changed. “But I think we kept enough calm and control to come away with the win.”

One more question. What does he think about his former assistant coach getting the Ireland job? “I think he deserves it. He’s done a great job for Leinster, he’ll do a great job for Ireland. He’s a very hard working coach, he’s a smart person, he’s a good person. If he’s got good people around him they will do great things for Irish rugby.”

Okay, last one. Promise. What’s all this about you joining Joe Schmidt in the international arena as the Scotland coach? “Ah jee, I seem to be getting linked with all these jobs. I’ve got another year left with Clermont. I would like to finish well and then we’ll see whether the adventure can continue here or perhaps it will be time to move on.”

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