Arizona Tribune - Dupont wants Toulouse to retain 'spontaneity' in Champions Cup final

Toulouse, already the record five-time champions of Europe, have been the team of this season's tournament, averaging over six tries per match on their way to this weekend's showpiece game in London.

France scrum-half star Dupont is the cornerstone of an impressive back division also featuring Test team-mate Romain Ntamack at fly-half.

But finals can often be cagey affairs and Leinster -- themselves four-time European champions -- boast a wealth of Ireland international talent in both attack and defence.

Dupont told a pre-match press conference on Friday: "It's still a special game, in a special venue, in a special context. Still, we should keep our trademark spontaneity."

South Africa's World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber is now a member of Leinster's backroom staff, with the Dublin-based side looking to go one better after losing the last two Champions Cup finals to La Rochelle.

Nienaber oversaw a Springbok side at last year's World Cup in France that won their quarter-final, semi-final and the final itself by a point -- a run culminating with captain Siya Kolisi lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy after a 12-11 victory over arch-rivals New Zealand.

"They went for him (Nienaber) to get his experience of knockout stages, of important games," said Dupont, a member of a France side edged out 29-28 by South Africa in an epic quarter-final.

"We focused on ourselves while adapting to this team whose game changed a bit but that is still the simple things very well, as usual.

"Their attacking game, with this capacity to hold the ball for a while, good and fast rucks, a quality kicking game -- they kept all this while trying to get a new approach defensively."

Saturday's match is being played at the home of Premier League football club Tottenham, with Dupont saying: "The stadium is quite impressive. There's not much rugby played here. The size of the pitch is peculiar, with a very small (in-goal) area and tight touchlines."

But with the stadium boasting a capacity of over 60,000, the 27-year-old playmaker added: "We have to enjoy those moments, to experience a final in such a beautiful stadium. I hope there will be a lot of Toulouse supporters in the stands."

W.Moreno--AT