They resemble veteran pugilists, wearied and scarred by endless attrition but retaining the character and belief to sacrifice the bodies one more time in pursuit of the Holy Grail of European club rugby, the Heineken Cup.
Today's combatants have so much in common that, language barrier permitting, they could trawl many shared memories. This is the third time Stade Francais and Munster will oppose each other in as many years, their European Cup rivalry poised at 1-1.
The Irish province triumphed comprehensively, 27-10, in a quarter-final at Thomond Park two years ago, the French side exacting revenge in last season's semi-final (16-15) having benefited from a dreadful refereeing decision that denied Munster wing John O'Neill a perfectly valid try.
That familiarity though camouflages so many similarities between the teams. Munster came agonisingly close to winning the cup in 2000, losing 9-8 to Northampton in the final; last year Stade Francais buckled in injury-time in the final against Leicester.
The correlations don't end there. Munster's Declan Kidney, who has presided over what has been a phenomenally successful period in the province's history, will, with assistant Niall O'Donovan, step down at the end of the provincial season. It is a fate shared by John Connolly, Stade Francais' Australian coach.
He will be supplanted at the end of the season by former Springbok coach Nick Mallett, Connolly heading for Swansea. It is obvious this tie will be emotive for both sets of players. The mutual desperation to succeed is tangible.
Stade Francais captain, Christophe Juillet, conceded: "Munster will want revenge for last year's semi-final in Lille, but we too have a bad taste in our mouth after losing out in last year's final so we very much want to get back there to put our record straight."
Juillet points out today's sides have changed their style of rugby, ironically in similar fashion in that both pursue a more expansive game. "I find Munster have opened up their game a lot more this season which has weakened them somewhat. Last year they played a very tight game and it was more difficult to play against them.
"Last season our game was largely based around the set-piece and defence whereas this year we have used our backs well and scored a lot of tries."
The return of Peter Stringer to the starting XV is a huge fillip for the visitors while Kidney has opted for the more combative qualities of Rob Henderson in the centre and Paul O'Connell in the second row. In doing so he has acknowledged the game could hinge on physical aptitude.
In this respect referee Nigel Whitehouse will have a crucial role. Stade were unhappy with his handling of their defeat by Ulster at Ravenhill while Munster may recall his awarding of a try that wasn't - he subsequently admitted he had been incorrect - in a quarter-final game against Colomiers three years ago.
Stade opt for youth over experience as Christophe Moni and Cliff Mytton are on the bench: Connolly has thrust responsibility on flanker Pierre Rabadan (21), and Nicolas Raffault (22), in the centre. Although they may prefer a more expansive game, the trappings of their consistency in Europe, a strong scrum/lineout and the metronomic accuracy of outhalf Diego Dominguez remain.
The charismatic talent of French international scrumhalf Fabien Galthie is a new addition to a dog-eared script. Munster must once again defy logic: only one team has won an away quarter-final since the competition started. They must unearth another momentous performance.
It doesn't matter where Munster garner the inspiration, Mick Galwey, Peter Clohessy, Ronan O'Gara, Stringer or Henderson: collectively they need to subscribe to their adopted anthem. It is time for them to Stand Up and Fight.
