Yoann Huget stands out as a potent threat to Munster in Heineken Cup quarter-final

Munster

will face many threats in their quarter-final clash with Toulouse on Saturday but none seem more evident than

Yoann Huget

. Maxime Médard,

Clément Poitrenaud, Gael Fickou and New Zealand wing Hosea Gear are all potent options for the French side but Huget is a man who was in virtually everyone's team of the Six Nations.

The wing scored three tries despite often having little to work with in an under-performing French side and he soared above Rob Kearney to set up their opening try against Ireland.

It is testament to Munster’s standing in Europe – or perhaps their opponents diminishing status in recent seasons – that several Toulouse players are happy to talk themselves up as major underdogs ahead of the trip to Thomond Park. Huget is no different.

"We're aware of the task at hand," he told The Irish Times yesterday evening. "It'll let us know if we're a big team or to know if we still need to work for another few years to try and overcome a team like Munster.

“They’ve changed their style but they’re still Munster, with a huge pack. If we start to get toppled over by their forwards, their backs will start to go through us.”

The four-time European champions still have by far the biggest budget in France – over €35 million this season – but they have shown unusual frailty in both domestic and European competition this season.

They must make do without prop Census Johnston on Saturday and they are aware that statistics very much favour the home side in the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup.

The Top 14 fixture list has helped them prepare for this game, however, with back-to-back matches at Stade Francais and Toulon steeling them for a trip to Limerick.

Guy Novès' side drew in Paris and lost narrowly against the European champions last weekend but another obvious reference point for them is their 17-16 win over Saracens.

Pool match
Yannick Nyanga said that, just like that pool match at Wembley, the atmosphere at Thomond Park could make winning all the sweeter. Huget, however, believes the French side's standout result this season was achieved in less-pressurised circumstances.

“The match against Munster is totally different,” he said. “It’s a knockout match and we know that there won’t be any chances to make amends afterwards. Saracens was a special match because they were on quite a big winning streak.

“We weren’t yet in good form . . . we played with an element of surprise. But in the quarter-finals there are no surprise effects. Munster will be ready for us, we know that, and it will be very difficult for us.”

Huget’s form has made a three-month ban before the last World Cup a fading memory. Nowadays, he is becoming proof that the best form of defence is a thrilling, unexpected counter-attack. He said that the adulation he received after the Six Nations was “flattering” and that it gave him great confidence for the rest of the season.

Despite the presence of several Toulouse backs in the French squad though, he believes that re-adapting to life at club level might take longer than it does for his Irish counterparts.

'Every week'
"You see that they're used to playing with each other every week. They had a pair of centres that have played with each other for almost 10 years. For us, it's different.

“You have to work hard and (reflexes) come back. We don’t play in the same position all the time with France or Toulouse. “

As well as raiding down the wing, Huget occasionally fills in at fullback for his club. Given his form for France, though, it is easy to guess where he would rather play against Munster.

“I don’t have a particular preference,” the 26-year-old said. “But I do like to get a run of matches and to continue to play matches in the same position. For me to work well and to make progress, that’s what I need to do.”

Huget should know, given that he has not always had it so good. This is, after all, his second spell at Toulouse. As a youngster he had, among others, Vincent Clerc blocking his path to the side and, in search of game time, he left for Agen and then Bordeaux. He did not necessarily think he would return to the club to battle it out with Clerc as an equal.

“It turned out that way,” he admits. “I was young and I liked to party, let’s say. I wasn’t as serious and I wasn’t living the life of a high-level sportsmen.

“I needed to understand that it wasn’t only talent that could help me succeed . . . I needed to leave to come back.”

Over to Munster, then, to try to send Toulouse’s prodigal son home empty handed this time.