New Zealander Brad Thorn could create rugby history in tomorrow's Heineken Cup final between Leinster and Ulster at Twickenham.

Thorn, provided he is selected and holders Leinster retain the trophy, would become the first player to win a World Cup, Heineken Cup and Super Rugby title.

The 37-year-old former All Blacks lock has been a key part of Leinster's charge towards their third Heineken final in four seasons.

"I just love my footie," he said. "I like being here, the challenge of it and being part of a Heineken Cup.

"Leinster are a great side with a great coaching team in Joe Schmidt, Greg Feek and Jono Gibbes - it's the whole package.

"Being in the Heineken Cup final is juicy, but basically there is a brick wall between us and the cup in Ulster.

"If we allow them to get a good start and build a lead, then it will be a pretty tough job for us to get back into the game."

While Leinster have enjoyed an unbeaten march to the final, winning seven and drawing one of their eight games, Ulster progressed from a tougher pool - one that included European heavyweights Leicester and Clermont Auvergne.

They also knocked out twice-Heineken Cup winners and quarter-final opponents Munster, and the size of their threat is not lost on Schmidt.

"In last year's final, Northampton played superbly in the first-half against us and we didn't take our opportunities," he said.

"We made three clean line-breaks and gave the ball straight back to them. They dominated us in the first 40 minutes.

"We can't afford to do that with Ulster, especially when you look at their quarter-final victory over Munster.

"Ulster are a team that can keep you under pressure because of their kicking game and they can also exert pressure on your platforms.

"John Afoa, Tom Court and Rory Best have done a great job for them in the front-row; Johann Muller calls the lineouts and Stephen Ferris and Pedrie Wannenburg both add a lot."

England international Steffon Armitage, meanwhile, has hailed the influence of former France coach Bernard Laporte on Amlin Challenge Cup finalists Toulon.

Armitage, Jonny Wilkinson and company will aim to end Toulon's 20-year wait for a major trophy when they tackle Biarritz at the Twickenham Stoop tonight.

"Bernard has brought his own distinctive game plan with him," former London Irish flanker Armitage said.

"And although Toulon are regarded as big spenders, he also makes sure that everyone keeps their feet on the ground and everyone is equal.

"He has given players the opportunity to come out of their shells and play their own kind of rugby.

"We are not scared of anyone. On our day we have got the players to win games, so the only important thing to Toulon was that we were there for the final and not who we are playing.

Ulster wing Andrew Trimble has warned Leinster they will face a side "motivated by jealousy" in the first all-Irish Heineken Cup final at Twickenham on Saturday.

Ulster were the first Irish side to win Europe's premier club competition when they beat Colomiers at Lansdowne Road back in 1999. But that success, achieved during a year when English clubs boycotted the tournament, has since been overshadowed by the triumphs of provincial rivals Munster and Leinster, who have won two titles apiece.

But Ireland wing Trimble says the chance to prove that Ulster are no longer the "third-choice province" is a hugely potent form of motivation for the Twickenham showdown. "This game mean a massive amount for Ulster rugby and for Irish rugby, there is such a rivalry between the provinces," he said.

"We have become genuine contenders for the trophy and Saturday is an opportunity we don't want to let slip. Playing Leinster adds intensity and passion and we want to come out on top and we also want to deny Leinster that trophy."

He added: "We were getting fed up of being seen as the third-choice province. I have played for Ulster for seven or eight years and we have always been seen as third-choice behind Leinster and Munster.

"Going into this final we are motivated by jealousy. We want to leapfrog them and become the number one province. We have done a lot of hard work to get to this point and a Heineken Cup final gives us a great chance to do it."

The pair have been perennial European challengers over the course of the last decade, a time during which Ulster occasionally struggled to keep up.

But under the guidance of coach Brian McLaughlin, and with a squad mixing the experienced South Africa contingent of Ruan Pienaar, Pedrie Wannenburg and Johann Muller with homegrown talents like Trimble and Craig Gilroy, Ulster are back at the European game's top table.

Victory would stop 2011 winners Leinster becoming the first side to retain the trophy, and give Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin European club rugby's biggest prize in his final game in charge.

With both Ulster and Leinster through to this year's Heineken Cup final on May 19, an Irish winner is guaranteed leaving the door open for Connacht to qualify as the fourth team from Ireland.

This comes as a huge boost to Connacht who finished off their first ever Heineken Cup campaign this year with a memorable pool victory over Harlequins at the Sportsground.

The advent of top flight European rugby in the west of Ireland has seen major changes both within the Sportsground and throughout Galway and the province.

Thousands of supporters flocked to Galway city to see Connacht take on Aviva Premiership giants Harlequins and Gloucester as well as French powerhouses Toulouse this season.

Next season promises to be an equally thrilling journey for Connacht as they prepare to enter what has been described as the best club tournament in the world, the Heineken Cup, as well as competing in the RaboDirect PRO12 which supplied three out of the four semi-finalists in this season's Heineken Cup.

Due to the exceptional demand to see some of Europe's greatest teams at the Sportsground, Connacht Season Tickets remain the only way to guarantee entry to the three home pool matches, as well as all 11 of Connacht's home RaboDirect PRO12 games.

With limited availability and some sections nearly sold out already, supporters are urged to purchase their Season Tickets early to ensure they can be part of the next step in Connacht Rugby's history.

Season Tickets are available for purchase online at www.connachtrugby.ie or from the Connacht Rugby ticket office at the Sportsground, College Road, Galway.

Toulouse set for Sunday

English challengers Leicester and Northampton will play on different days of the Heineken Cup quarter-final weekend later this season.

Tigers' clash against Leinster - a repeat of the 2009 final - will take place on Saturday, April 9 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, with a 6pm kick-off.

Top seeds Saints, meanwhile, will face Ulster at the stadium:mk in Milton Keynes the following day at 2pm.

Perpignan's quarter-final against Toulon is set for the 55,000-capacity Olympic Stadium in Barcelona on the Saturday, with Sunday's action concluded by Heineken Cup holders Toulouse facing Biarritz at Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian.

The semi-finals see Leinster or Leicester facing Biarritz or Toulouse, with Northampton or Ulster meeting Perpignan or Toulon.

IRELAND coach Declan Kidney was handed some good news ahead of tomorrow's preliminary Six Nations squad announcement as Ulster and Leinster allayed injury fears regarding Rory Best and Gordon D'Arcy.

D'Arcy was due to start Leinster's win over Saracens in the RDS but was withdrawn late on due to a calf injury.

However, the centre has not been ruled out of this weekend's trip to Paris to face Racing Metro and a decision on his availability, and that of No 8 Jamie Heaslip, will be made when the team is named on Thursday.

Best was forced from the field in Ulster's narrow win over Biarritz with a rib injury, but Ulster yesterday refused to rule the hooker out of this weekend's trip to Italy to face Aironi in a match that could see the province secure a spot in the last eight of the Heineken Cup for the first time since they won the competition in 1999.

Best's fitness is particularly crucial to Kidney as the luckless Jerry Flannery continues to struggle with injury, though Sean Cronin and Damien Varley provide cover while Ulster's Nigel Brady would be most likely to come into the squad should they suffer any further injuries at hooker.

Full-back is the major area of concern. Geordan Murphy ruled himself out of the Six Nations campaign with an ankle injury while Connacht's Gavin Duffy is in a race to recover in time for the opening match of the tournament in Italy on February 5.

Rob Kearney is still recovering from a knee injury picked up in the Autumn International defeat to the All Blacks.

However, Luke Fitzgerald, who picked up a similar injury to Kearney in the same match, is an option and he completed 80 minutes on the wing for Leinster on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Munster's Donnacha Ryan is a worry as he was on crutches on Sunday night in the wake of the defeat to Toulon.

Kidney will name at least 30 players in his squad tomorrow while an 'A' squad for the clash against Scotland on January 28 will also be announced.

- Donnchadh Boyle

Irish Independent

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin believes his side can play better after they struggled to deal with a brave Aironi effort before registering an opening bonus-point win in Pool Four of the Heineken Cup.

After seeing off the Italians 30-6, a win which took his side's unbeaten record to six games in all competitions at Ravenhill, McLaughlin admitted his side could improve on their performance.

"The way to describe it was we got a great win but we can still play better," he said.

The bonus-point was vital for Ulster, who play Biarritz away next weekend and also have to face Bath in what is likely to be a highly competitive group.

McLaughlin was keen to play down the province's absolute need to get maximum points from the Aironi clash.

"We are chuffed with the result but we never mentioned the bonus point. We knew, though that going into Europe it would be very important for us to get maximum points.

"At half-time we talked about maintaining tempo and intensity, which had been lacking in previous games, while we also talked about accuracy, but that sort of let us down tonight."

Opportunistic

Andrew Trimble's first-half try, with an excellent assist from Springbok Ruan Pienaar, was supplemented in the second half by an opportunistic score from Ian Humphreys, along with tries from Simon Danielli and the bonus point coming courtesy of Pienaar.

"In the second half we got there in the end, but we still made a few mistakes. Thankfully, we got there," McLaughlin said.

Looking forward to next weekend's game in Biarritz, McLaughlin said that Ulster were under no illusions about the task ahead.

"Aironi are a very tough, physical pack and it's going to be no different in Biarritz, but we have to deal with that and make sure we match Biarritz's physicality," McLaughlin said.

"We're going to go there with a lot of confidence and we must make sure we take our opportunities when they arise.

"We're very happy with where we are. We're in a good place but we know we can still do better," the Ulster coach added.

"I was pretty rusty and threw a few bad passes and made a few poor kicks," said Ulster out-half Humphreys after playing his first competitive game of the season.

"I thought that it was just through a few mistakes from us that we didn't pile on the points. We were just trying to force the offloads and passes.

"To meet the challenge of Biarritz next week, we really have to tighten up on that aspect of our game and cut out the silly errors," added Humphreys, who took over the kicking duties from Pienaar.