Temperatures of 30C may confront Munster in the south of France but the Irish champions are unlikely to notice. For Peter Clohessy even to consider playing against Castres 19 days after suffering second-degree burns in a bonfire accident is spectacular proof of the team's resilience and they have set their hearts on winning today's game.
If Raphael Ibanez's mercurial Castres side need any confirmation of the red tornado heading their way, they need only recall either Munster's sensational semi-final victory over Toulouse in Bordeaux two years ago or their epic victory over Stade Français in this year's quarter-final in Paris, rated by Leicester's Martin Johnson as the best European effort he has ever seen.
This time, though, the visiting team are in the last days under the guidance of their coach Declan Kidney and the sight of Clohessy in the starting line-up illustrates their desire not to bring down the curtain on a glorious era at Béziers' 20,400-capacity Stade de la Mediterranée. "None of us wants this to be our last game together in the Heineken Cup," admits Anthony Foley, their influential No8.
The fact is, though, that Munster will once again be fighting the odds. Unlike the other semi-finalists they have played only once together since January and some key men, not least David Wallace, went seriously off the boil during the Six Nations. While Munster are one of only two sides to have won a Heineken Cup semi-final on foreign soil, they also lost away to Castres in the pool stages in a fiery game which left scars on both sides.
It eventually took the evidence of a police forensic expert to clear Castres' forward Ismaella Lassissi on appeal of biting Clohessy's arm and, as Kidney concedes, the French will have a fair idea what to expect. "Castres are a very strong, physical team with no small amount of ability. We have done well in France in the past but there will be no surprise element in this game."
Those who believe in historical symmetry will note that the last time the final was staged in Cardiff, it involved Leicester against a small-town French club called Brive, who went on to give one of the great attacking displays in the tournament's history. Castres could potentially do the same but Munster will never lie down.
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