Olympique Who are they? By rights, the charming seaside resort town of Biarritz (population 35,000) in the surfer’s paradise of the Sud Ouest shouldn’t have a Top 14 team, much less one that claimed three Boucliers in 2002, ’04 and ’06. They wouldn’t have either but for the considerable presence of former fullback Serge Blanco and Serge Kampf, whose worldwide consultancy agency Cap Gemini sponsor the club, formed in 1902.
Hosting Euro games in San Sebastian has enabled them to hijack the Basque identity from Bayonne, much better supported but hopelessly run.
Home from home?
This is their sixth tie in the Estadio Anoeta, the 32,000-capacity home ground of Spanish football club Real Sociedad. They beat Munster in their first outing there four years ago, and have since beaten Sale, Bath and the Ospreys in H Cup, as well as Bayonne and Toulouse domestically this year. Heineken Cup pedigree?
The only semi-finalist yet to win the trophy, this is their fourth appearance at this stage . Suffered heartbreak in Paris in the ’05 semis when Tony Spreadbury missed a blatant knock-on in the build-up to Christophe Dominici’s match-winning try for Stade Francais deep into injury-time and, of course, were unlucky to meet force of nature Munster in the ’06 final in Cardiff. Pool exits for the last two seasons.
Form this season?
Patchy, very patchy. Opening day defeat in blistering heat to Castres set the tone, won seven games in a row up to November but then lost their way. Threw away too many close games and suffered defeats on the road to all the bottom three, Albi, Bayonne and Montauban, and then their final two games away to Racing and Clermont in finishing outside the play-offs in seventh – so they face a point of no return today. To qualify for the H Cup next season, they or Toulouse must win this season’s tournament, or hope Toulon win the Challenge Cup.
Strengths
Solid set-pieces, good maul, excellent kicking game, brilliance of Imanol Harinordoquy and Dimitri Yachvilli, and the blinding pace of +winger Ngwenya Takudzwa.
Weaknesses
Can play a very structured game, short on inspiration and heavily reliant on old guard. They looked bunched in the quarter-final endgame against the Ospreys and are missing hugely influential match-winner from that day, Damien Traille.
Key man
Dimitri Yachvilli. Why are so many French scrumhalves also goal-kickers-cum-playmakers-cum-occasional first receivers? His grandfather emigrated from Georgia during the second World War, and the left-footer with the most skeletal, ballet danceresque ankles in rugby, pulls the strings, comes up with the off-the-cuff plays and racks up the points.
– GERRY THORNLEY
