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Sam Bruce
FOX SPORTS
September 09, 2014 11:19AM
A SHOWDOWN to decide the world’s premier rugby club is again on the cards with Toulon seeking out NSW Waratahs for a match early next year.
According to French newspaper Midi Olympique, Toulon has contacted NSW officials about a clash that would pit the Heineken Cup champions against the Super Rugby winners - possibly during next year’s Six Nations.
Toulon tried to make the match happen earlier this year but couldn’t agree on a date for the fixture with then reigning southern hemisphere champions, the Chiefs.
If the match did become a reality the list of matchups would be mouth-watering while it would also pit Toulon’s Aussie flyer Drew Mitchell against his former club.
Here’s the pick of some head-to-head battles we’d love to see.
Benn Robinson v Carl Hayman
Overlooked for the original Wallabies squad, Benn Robinson could finally be back in a gold jersey this weekend after he earned a recall on Monday.
Despite his original Test omission, Robinson was one of the key cogs in the Waratahs forward pack during their run to the title with his solid scrummaging and work about the paddock earning plenty of praise from coach Michael Cheika.
Lining up against Robinson, should the Toulon match happen, would be the French side’s skipper and former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman.
Hayman was regarded as one of the world’s best scrummagers during his 45-Test career, causing headaches for many a Wallabies loosehead along the way.
Wycliff Palu v Steffon Armitage
Steffon Armitage may well be the world’s best No.8. We just have no way of telling because the Rugby Football Union refuses to make him available for England selection.
Armitage was named European Player of the Year as he helped drive Toulon to the French Top 14 and Heineken Cup double last season, the Englishman combining great skill with raw power in both competitions.
Wycliff Palu may have come in for some criticism of late – including that from Fox Sports’ own Greg Martin – but there can be no doubting the quality of his form throughout the Super Rugby season.
Coach Cheika “managed” Palu’s workload across the regular season which helped the veteran No.8 avoid injury and allow him to produce his best rugby during the playoffs.
We’d love to see Palu and Armitage run at each other.
Bernard Foley v Matt Giteau
There was a time not long ago when Matt Giteau was being sounded out for a potential return to the Wallabies set-up. It never eventuated as the ARU made it clear it wouldn’t be altering its overseas selection policy.
That hasn’t worried Giteau one bit. Fresh from his starring role in the Heineken Cup final, Giteau has now taken on greater responsibility at Toulon following the retirement of England great Jonny Wilkinson. The former Brumbies and Wallabies pivot looks at ease in the south of France.
But how would he handle the directness of Bernard Foley’s play? It’d be worth seeing, that’s for sure. Foley loves to take the line on while his ability to mix and match with inside centre Kurtley Beale – a combination Ewen McKenzie continues to resist – created all sorts of problems for their Super Rugby rivals.
Drew Mitchell v Rob Horne
We should call this match-up “Battlefield Redemption” such have been the respective comebacks of these two former teammates.
Seemingly on the cusp of forced retirement a couple of years ago, Mitchell continues to defy medical logic and is once again among the world’s most devastating finishers.
Mitchell appears to be relishing life in France alongside good mate Giteau, the duo even combining for a brilliant try during the Heineken Cup final win over Saracens.
While Mitchell has been off wreaking havoc all over France, Horne has managed to negotiate a positional switch and reinvent himself as a hard-running winger.
With Beale forming a devastating midfield partnership with Adam Ashley-Cooper it looked as though Horne’s Waratahs career might come to a premature end.
But thanks to the help of highly-regarded Waratahs assistant Daryl Gibson the 25-year-old Sydneysider not only locked down a position on the NSW wing but also earned a Test recall.
Israel Folau v Delon Armitage
Is there anything left to say about Israel Folau? Another try in the Wallabies’ victory over South Africa at the weekend took his season tally 17 and keeps him on track for the combined Super Rugby and Test season mark of 26 held by Doug Howlett.
Folau continues to amaze in this just his second rugby season, the fullback adding more subtlety and skill to his already superb game each week.
The second of the Armitage brothers at Toulon, Delon played 26 Tests for England before heading offshore and therefore forgoing his international career.
He boasts a little more experience than Folau in the custodian role but he probably hasn’t come across a player of the code-hopper’s quality in the Top 14 just yet. One day, maybe.
Toulon v NSW Waratahs? It would be a beauty.
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