Halfpenny out to avenge past disappointment as Toulon take on Leinster

leighhalfpenny - CROPPED

Leigh Halfpenny will be on a personal mission when Toulon take on Leinster in the European Rugby Champions Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

The Wales full-back was part of the Cardiff Blues side that lost to Leicester Tigers on penalties in the last four of the 2008-09 Heineken Cup, with the Welsh region having battled back from 26-12 down in the closing stages to force extra time.

Halfpenny - passed fit after leaving the field with a shoulder injury during last weekend's Top 14 win against Grenoble - has not since had the chance to avenge that disappointment but heads into this term's semi-finals hopeful of finally booking his place in Europe's premier showpiece.

"I've played a semi-final in 2009 with Cardiff Blues," he said. "We lost on penalties and I hope that the outcome will be different on Sunday.

"It was a great disappointment, but I have the opportunity to play another.

"It'll be a huge game against a team packed with quality. It will be complicated and we need to be 100 per ready.

"This is one of the biggest matches of my career and it's also a great match for Toulon.

"With the success the club has had over the past two years, we do not want to stop there."

Toulon are looking to be crowned European champions for a record third time in a row, while Leinster could pull level with standard-bearers Toulouse in winning a fourth continental title.

"We all know Toulon; they're probably the most admired club team in the world," said Leinster number eight Jamie Heaslip. "The pedigree of their internationals speaks for itself.

"You could probably pick two XVs and they're just as strong as each other. We know we're up against it.

"They're going to be favourites, but we're going to go down there and give it our best shot. We're going to leave everything out there on the field and give an 80-minute performance that we can be proud of.

"We've got a plan in place that we need to take down there and it's about executing it. Because if you don't execute well, you miss one on one tackles, then you're going to be chasing red shirts all day.

The winner of this fixture will meet the victor of Saturday's opening semi-final between Clermont Auvergne and Saracens.

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