EDF Energy Cup - : Clash of the Titans

Tigers celebrate their 2007 EDF Energy Cup win

Clash of the Titans

19 March 2008, 10:12 am

By Jonathan McConnell

What a battle awaits in the all-English clash in Saturday's EDF Energy Cup semi-final between two giants of English rugby, Leicester Tigers and London Wasps - or should that be Martin Corry and Lawrence Dallaglio.

Leicester Tigers face the toughest of challenges as they seek to retain the EDF Energy Cup, in a match which kicks off on Saturday at 2.30pm.

Up against rivals London Wasps, fans at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday and the millions watching the game live on BBC One could be in for a real treat.

“Losing out in Europe has made this game a heap bigger to us,” says Martin Corry, who could be set to meet Dallaglio across a rugby pitch for the last time in the clash.

“The EDF Energy Cup was always an important goal. We are, after all, the holders. Successfully defending our EDF Energy title is a must for us.”

Equally, Lawrence Dallaglio, set to retire from the game at the end of the season, knows the encounter is hugely important.

“Our hold on the Heineken Cup has gone but we’re 80 minutes away from the EDF Energy final and 160 minutes away from winning it,” he says.

“We’ve managed to win at least one trophy every year for the last five years and we have no intention of stopping this sequence now.”

And as to the rivalry between the two clubs, who between them have won the Premiership title eight times in the last decade, Dallaglio believes it’s Wasps who have the upper hand when it comes to the crunch games.

“They have Test class from one to 15 but so do we. And we have history on our side because, for all the defeats Leicester have inflicted on us over the years, when it’s really mattered we’ve come out on top in all the significant matches.”

Corry, not surprisingly, has a different view.

“I can’t argue with the fact that Wasps beat us in last year’s Heineken Cup final and in a few other big games, including the cup semi-final two years ago, but it’s 0-0 when the whistle blows in Cardiff on 22 March, and those previous results will mean no more than the many wins we’ve had over them in the league in recent years.”

So honours even then and everyone set for a thrilling game between two great clubs and two of England’s greatest servants to rugby, who share a personal rivalry and deep mutual respect.

“Lawrence epitomises Wasps. He is a rare breed - a one-club man - and he’s given fantastic service to Wasps,” adds Corry.

Dallaglio, for his part, says: “We have some battle-hardened warriors in our team, guys like the captain of England, Phil Vickery, and the former captain of France, Raphael Ibanez, but so, too, do Leicester, with Martin Corry.”

It all adds up to what should be a mouth-watering encounter in an incredible stadium.

“A double header in one of the best stadiums in the world and it’s where we beat Leicester in a semi-final two years ago,” says Dallaglio.

But things are never that simple. Who scored the winning tries for Wasps? Ayoola Erinle. Now, of course, playing for Tigers.

Meanwhile, for all the rivalries and personal battles on the pitch, Ian McGeechan, Wasps’ director of rugby, is gearing up to it.

“It’s always an exciting challenge to take a club side into the environment of an international stadium - the atmosphere, the whole level of expectancy and the challenge of performing on that stage.

“That challenge is made even greater when you’re facing opposition like Leicester Tigers. We have faced them on several previous occasions but if we both continue to challenge for trophies, we are bound to come across each other and long may it continue!

“When you get to the knock-out stages of the big competitions you expect the big teams to be there so it’s no surprise to see Wasps, Leicester, Saracens or the Ospreys doing battle for a place in the final.”

McGeehan’s memories of the Millennium Stadium are all positive.

“The proximity of the seating to the pitch makes the stadium feel very big but very tight at the same time. Everything feels very close and as a result you are far more aware of the supporters in the stands. You can’t underestimate the impact that has on the player and we are hoping that we can get a good crowd down to Cardiff to cheer the players on.

“There, more than perhaps anywhere else, the crowd and the atmosphere can really have an affect on the teams.”

For the full version of the Corry v Dallaglio EDF Energy Cup semi final preview, see April’s edition of Rugby World.