Heineken European Cup, semi-finalLeicester v Toulouse Walkers Stadium, 3.30 Two titans go to war, and all that. They are the best-funded, the best-supported, the best-equipped, in short just simply the best in England and France.

In a footballing context, it's akin to a meeting between, say, Manchester United and AC Milan, and the only pity is that tomorrow's Heineken Cup semi-final between Leicester Tigers and Stade Toulousain isn't the final.

They are the superpowers of English and French rugby, in essence the two biggest clubs in the northern hemisphere. Accordingly, they are also the only two-time winners of the European Cup, and come tea-time tomorrow only one of them will be able to lift the trophy for a third time at the 10th final in Murrayfield four weeks hence.

It's the kind of potentially epic collision that has helped make the European Cup a welcome rival to the Six Nations and in some respects even surpass it.

Indeed, comparisons with the somewhat desultory England-France Six Nations meeting at Twickenham this season are not necessarily flattering. This is le nouveau crunch.

As Noves said of Toulouse's opponents: "They inspire me with a combination of fear, respect and admiration and it will be a pleasure to be able to measure and evaluate ourselves against them. It's going to be an enormous confrontation."

The comparisons between the clubs are striking. While always major forces in their countries, it's only been in the last quarter of the 21st century that they became the standard bearers. Much of the Leicester rejuvenation can be traced to the vision of the legendary Chalkie White, who guided the club to a hat-trick of Cup titles from 1979 to 1981.

Likewise, Toulouse had become something of a sleeping giant since their dominance in the 1920s by the time Pierre Villepreux became coach in the 1980s, with Jean-Claude Skrela as his assistant, backed as they were by the visionary Toulouse president of the time, Jean Fabre. Toulouse's new-found professionalism earned them championship titles in in 1985, 1986 and 1989.

Naturally, both sides are adorned with some of the biggest names in the game. There are 13 internationals in each starting line-up. The Irish interest is spread between Geordan Murphy, reverting to fullback as Sam Vesty drops to the bench to accommodate Austin Healey, the Barnhall Bruiser Trevor Brennan in Toulouse's engine room, and Alain Rolland at the head of an Irish team of officials. It's an awful shame the injured Fabien Pelous won't have one last second-row head-to-head with Martin Johnson.

Both Leicester and Toulouse command loyalty. There might be better-paid players at other clubs, but no-one is ever paid badly at Leicester or Toulouse, where the players are always well looked after. One-club stalwarts provide a sense of continuity with each, which is strengthened by the coaching staff invariably consisting of former players, and the team ethos is always paramount.

Legend has it that shortly after his arrival there, the Leicester Lip Healey was punched in the face by new colleague Richard Cockerill during a game of touch rugby. Flash types aren't tolerated at Leicester, and anyone not pulling his weight is usually quickly informed, by team-mates as much as by coaches.

"There's no one person bigger than the club and we all play for each other," stresses the former Leicester and England hooker Dorian West.

"When John Wells (the current coach) and Dean Richards (the former team manager) arrived it was the same - there was no specialness about anyone and that has been passed down."

Relentlessly competitive, as the infamous Back-hander in the final of 2002 demonstrated, there's little they won't resort to in order to win.

Winning four leagues in succession from 1999 to 2002, and also back-to-back European Cups, they became near unbeatable.

"It has a lot to do with the history of the place," says former hooker and current chief executive Peter Wheeler. "The confidence has been built up over the years and it seeps into you."

Ditto Toulouse, although their approach is truer to the more individualistic and instinctive playing style fostered by Villepreux and carried on for the last decade by their one-time winger Guy Noves, as much guru as head coach.

Even when the wheels came off last season at Leicester and they were compelled to make the agonising decision of removing Richards, the team leaders such as Neil Back, who is now the defensive coach, rallied under Wells and they squeezed into this season's European Cup thanks, ironically, to the Clement Poitrenaud error that allowed Rob Howley to pilfer an 80th-minute match-winning try and thereby earn England a seventh place in this season's tournament.

Coupled with Leicester's progress to the quarter-finals as one of the two best losers, when indebted to results in other groups, it reinforces the feeling that perhaps their name is on this trophy.

Regardless of the outcome or the final, the scary thing for their domestic and European rivals is that Leicester and Toulouse are both showing the ability and desire to become even bigger.

Toulouse have filled the 37,000 Toulouse football stadium to capacity for home quarter-finals in each of the last two seasons, on the back of which they were able to build a state-of-the-art new all-weather training centre with floodlights and gym.

Meanwhile, Leicester were seriously engaged in discussions with Leicester City to move to the Walkers Stadium from next season onwards, and though negotiations broke down, the probability is that it will happen in the 2006-2007 season.

As in last year's final when Wasps somehow contained their brilliant offloading game, the daring distribution and dancing feet of Michalak, along with his kindred spirit Poitrenaud, the potency of Yannick Jauzion, and perhaps the most impact-laden bench in the competition's history, are all more liable to elevate this game into the realms of fantasy rugby than the comparatively prosaic, albeit ruthless, qualities of the Leicester setpiece game, and Johnson, Back and co.

Asked whether Leicester would have to play as well as they did against Leinster in the quarter-finals, Wells answered: "Well, we don't have to play Leinster again, do we? Leinster's set of forwards aren't up to this lot (Toulouse). Looking at the French championship - there are six packs that would duff Leinster up. That is going to be our problem. They may not be the most skilful or technically adept but they smash into everything and nothing is worth winning unless you compete for it."

Furthermore, Wells's bleatings about the potential for Toulouse to engage in dastardly "cheap shots" will have had little resonance throughout England, France or Ireland for that matter. Martin Johnson, shrinking violet? Hmm. Or, as Brian O'Driscoll would testify, the abrasive Lewis Moody for that matter.

Yet in the heel of the hunt, the likelier outcome is that Leicester's virtues, winning mentality and nerve will pull them through.

LEICESTER: G Murphy; L Lloyd, O Smith, D Gibson, A Healey; A Goode, H Ellis; G Rowntree, G Chuter, J White, M Johnson (capt), L Deacon, L Moody, N Back, H Tuilagi. Replacements: J Buckland, D Morris, B Kay, W Johnson, S Bemand, S Vesty, T Varndell.

TOULOUSE: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, Y Jauzion, F Fritz, C Heymans; F Michalak (capt), J Elissalde; J Poux, W Servat, O Hassan, T Brennan, R Millochlusky, F Maka, J Bouilhou, G Lamboley. Replacements: Y Bru, D Human, I Maka, C Labit, J Dubois, B Baby, G Thomas.

Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland).

BETTING (Paddy Powers): 8/11 Leicester, 16/1 Draw, 11/10 Toulouse. Handicap odds (= Toulouse + 2pts) 10/11 Leicester, 16/1 Draw, 10/11 Toulouse.

FORECAST: Leicester to win.