The Tig’s bags are already packed, but it does seem strange to be charting new territory after following familiar roads on our recent treks beyond the Premiership.
The last few seasons have involved a steady stream of trips to Toulouse, Clermont and Perpignan, pulling each of those clubs out of the hat twice in the half-dozen seasons before this one. And all three had also been Heineken Cup rivals in previous years too.
Not since the trip to Bourgoin back in 2006 has The Tig looked forward to ticking off a new destination in French rugby.
Toulon’s star has been on the rise for a few years now. Back in that 2006/07 season they arrived at Welford Road for a pre-season fixture in the early days of the ambitious recruitment and investment which has taken them towards the top of the European game. At that stage they included Lions hero Rob Henderson and England’s lethal wing Dan Luger as they started to spread the net far and wide in their recruitment of the best talents available.
Now, of course, they are sitting proudly on top of the French league table and are able to welcome Leicester Tigers for a quarter-final in the game’s top club competition.
The fact that they include Jonny Wilkinson, the man who inspired a new generation of rugby fans when he kicked the goal that won the World Cup, is remarkable given where they were at the time he lifted the Webb Ellis trophy.
But it is even more remarkable to think he is just one of the gems along the Toulon family jewels, with team-mates including Bakkies Botha, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Matt Giteau, Carl Hayman, Frederic Michalak and Andrew Sheridan. It reads more like a fantasy league team or a sticker album than a teamsheet.
It’s a staggering collection, there is no doubt, and we look forward like starry-eyed children to seeing them in the flesh this weekend.
But let’s not forget the world-class qualities of our own boys. The names of Ayerza, Ben and Tom Youngs, Cole, Parling, Croft, Flood, Tuilagi, Murphy and Castrogiovanni will adorn kits in the away dressing room and inspire our support from the stands. Allez les Tigres.
