Northampton face Herculean ordeal against Toulouse

The good folk of Birmingham have not seen much in the way of quality rugby during the professional era – Moseley, who used to be quite useful, are now quite desperate – so the idea of a Heineken Cup semi-final at Villa Park must seem unusually enticing. Sadly for the West Midlands, it will remain an idea unless something extraordinary occurs in south-west France this afternoon.

Northampton, who suffered the physical and emotional torment of a Twickenham defeat at the hands of Gloucester last weekend, must beat Toulouse to progress to the last four of Europe's élite tournament - their last shot at silverware in a season that once promised rewards aplenty. With the best will in the world, it is difficult to argue a case. Beating Toulouse anywhere is quite a task. Beating Toulouse in Toulouse is a labour worthy of Hercules himself; indeed, it makes the cleansing of the Augean stables look like a quick tidy-up with a dustpan and brush.

Frequently described as the Real Madrid of rugby, the Frenchmen have fallen short of expectations in European competition since winning the inaugural Heineken in 1996. Some of their failures have been self-inflicted, others have been down to rank misfortune. This time, though, they believe their name is on the trophy, for victory today will earn them a semi-final against Leicester or Munster in front of another home audience at Stadium de Toulouse.

To this end, they have selected a back division every bit as potent as the Real forward line that spent much of last Tuesday night ripping Manchester United into confetti-sized pieces. Clement Poitrenaud, Xavier Garbajosa, Vincent Clerc and Frédéric Michalak are all current Test players with World Cup roles to play this autumn; Emile NTamack, Yann Delaigue and Cedric Desbrosse are all past Test players who still pack a serious punch. If Desbrosse, a destructive force in midfield, is declared unfit, Yannick Jauzion will replace him – and he can play a bit, too.

Wayne Smith, the Northampton coach, gives his team a "starter's chance"; hardly the most optimistic of assessments, but very definitely a realistic one. Some notable big-hitters have been given the bum's rush following events in the Powergen Cup final seven days ago – John Leslie, Peter Jorgensen, Steve Williams and Robbie Morris are all history – and Smith's selection has a distinct whiff of the last chance saloon about it. The likelihood must be that Villa Park will remain a rugby-free zone.

Leicester clearly have a stronger claim on a semi-final place, despite the absence of Graham Rowntree, their Grand Slam-winning loose-head prop. Austin Healey is back in the mix for tomorrow's sell-out rumble with Munster at Welford Road – a re-match made in heaven after last year's close and controversial Heineken final in Cardiff – as are Rod Kafer and Ben Kay, two of the more influential performers in the champions' cast.

Like neighbouring Leinster, who take on the dangerous Biarritz today at Lansdowne Road, Munster have spent precious little time together of late and played next to no rugby. It may work against them, for momentum is everything at this late stage of a demanding campaign. There again, revenge is a powerful motivator. The very sight of Neil Back, whose blatant chicanery in the closing minutes of last season's final caused so much uproar, will concentrate Irish minds. Fun and games? Definitely.

Italy have threatened to pull out of the World Cup later this year because of a scheduling row. Italy have been given 11 rest days between their Pool D games. The All Blacks, by comparison, have 19 rest days.