Paul Rees 

Heineken Cup 2010: Ospreys’ Dan Biggar relishes tough trip to Toulon

Dan Biggar will fulfil a childhood dream if he plays opposite Jonny Wilkinson in Toulon in the Ospreys' Heineken Cup opener
  
  

Dan Biggar
Ospreys' Dan Biggar is undaunted by the prospect of playing opposite Toulon's Jonny Wilkinson in the Heineken Cup. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Ospreys, the Magners League champions, are anxious to show they are not Heineken Cup chokers after flopping at the quarter-final stage in the past three seasons but they find themselves in one of the most demanding pools.

Tomorrow's trip to Toulon, who are third in France's Top 14, is followed by a home encounter with the Premiership leaders, London Irish, before a double-header against the side currently topping the Magners League, Munster.

"We are going to have to do it the hard way but it is a campaign we are relishing," Dan Biggar, the Ospreys fly-half, said. "We have had a few disappointments in the last couple of years and we have to start fulfilling the potential in our squad. We need to get off to a good start and go from there."

Biggar said he would fulfil a childhood dream if he played tomorrow opposite Jonny Wilkinson, a player he has long admired. "It would be a privilege to be on the same field as him," the 21-year-old said. "He does not need me to tell him how good he has been on the international front.

"You do not get much bigger tests as an outside-half but I am not daunted by it. Jonny was someone I used as a role model and in 2003 he was probably the best player in the world. He does the basics extremely well and makes precious few errors. He does not have a weakness but it will be up to me to give as good as I get."

The Ospreys director of rugby, Scott Johnson, believes Wilkinson is playing as well as he was when he dropped the winning goal in the 2003 World Cup final against Australia in Sydney. "He's scoring some 20 points a game and dropping a number of goals," Johnson said. "We have to make sure we do not give him the opportunity to accumulate scores. We cannot put ourselves under that kind of pressure. We have to keep our discipline.

"Jonny is a player of real quality, but we have a couple who are his equal in Dan Biggar and James Hook. If Toulon give us half a sniff, we will come back at them. As much as I admire Jonny and what he's done, I wouldn't swap the two boys on my team."

Biggar is determined to use the first two rounds of the Heineken Cup as a means of putting himself into contention to claim the Wales fly-half jersey next month. "It is up to me to push on," he said. "I am happy with my form and came through a big test against Stephen Jones [of Scarlets] last week [Ospreys won 21-18].

"We want to put on a show in Toulon and play some good rugby. We are confident as a side and I am sure that Toulon will be a little worried. There is more pressure on them."

 

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