Laporte not obsessed by hat-trick hopes

Toulon manager Bernard Laporte said his side is not obsessed with hopes of completing a European Cup treble but believes they are well placed to do so.

The reigning double champions face Leinster in Marseille on Sunday with a place in next month's Twickenham final against Clermont at stake for the winners.

Toulon beat Clermont in the final two years ago to lift their first European Cup, succeeding Leinster as champions in doing so.

But becoming the first ever team to win a hat-trick of consecutive European crowns is not something that Laporte is focused on.

"It's pressure that we like having. We play rugby to be involved in these type of matches," he said Saturday.

"The seasons are long and if we do well then we're rewarded with matches like this.

"There's no particular pressure other than it being a semi-final in Marseille.

"It's more a ferocious desire to play these matches and put everything in place to win which is pumping us up."

Leinster had won the European Cup three times in four years, including back-to-back crowns in 2011 and 2012 before Toulon beat favourites Clermont 16-15 in the 2013 final.

They followed that up by coasting past Saracens -- beaten 13-9 by Clermont in Saturday's first semi-final in Saint-Etienne -- 23-6 last season as they also won the French Top 14 crown.

They were only the third side to win two titles in a row after Leicester first managed it at the turn of the century, but Laporte played down the significance of the possibility of making history.

"It's not an obsession but rather a possibility. It would be unique, of course we've spoken about it amongst ourselves and we want to do that," he said.

"I don't know if it would be an achievement but it could give us extra motivation."
Source: AFP