MARTYN WILLIAMS performed in overdrive throughout the Welsh surge to the Grand Slam. If Cardiff Blues are to keep alive the dream of a home Heineken Cup final he will have to play in a gear even he has not yet discovered. Toulouse away represents a greater challenge to the Welshman than France did in the final round of the Six Nations.

The Blues are improving but they are not in the same class as the national side whereas Toulouse would probably give France a rare old beating if we could turn hypotheses into reality. This is not some callow, experimental side but a hardened one with a recent history of underachievement.

Since making three consecutive Heineken Cup finals from 2003 to 2005 (winning two and losing in the most brilliant manner against Wasps at Twickenham) they have failed to win a trophy which, to put it mildly, has focused them this campaign. Thus far this season has been nothing but a series of statements.

Along with Clermont Auvergne they are 13 points clear in the French Top 14. Their best 15 has not lost in France. In Europe, Leicester and Leinster beat them but, throughout, Toulouse maintained pool control, hammering both pretenders in France. In East Midlands airport, on the night of the bonus-point loss to Leicester, the team sauntered around the departure lounge, looking as if their mission had been accomplished. It had. Toulouse trusted themselves to maximise home victories, minimise away losses and beat Edinburgh home and away to top the group.

Only a supremely confident team could have escaped from such a difficult pool without bothering to raise a sweat on the road. And they have reason to be confident. The pack has the capacity to break a team with its scrum power. It has a lineout catch and drive which drains opposition energy and an offloading game second to none.

Behind the scrum, Yannick Jauzion is one of the game’s most feted centres, with Cedric Heymans and Vincent Clerc offering some of the most original running lines imaginable. However, if they are vulnerable, it is at numbers nine and 10. Between the power of the pack and the panache of the three-quarters are two of the best half-backs in the world.

The problem for Toulouse is that they are both scrum-halves. Byron Kelleher is the All Black scrum-half in the No 9 shirt and the crafty Jean-Baptiste Elissalde the French nine who wears the Toulouse No 10. When Leinster beat Toulouse, Keith Gleeson did a harrying job on another 9/10 – in that instance it was Frederic Michalak. He was more 10 than nine without ever being quite either. Elissalde used to play fly-half for La Rochelle but he is now a scrum-half to the bottom of his boots. What Gleeson did Williams must match.

Here is the weak link which Williams has to snap if Cardiff Blues are to maintain the wonderful Welsh roll. It will require the Blues front five to do more than survive their ordeal by scrum. It will have to wheel and shunt its back row into positions from where Williams and Xavier Rush can launch at the fly-half. Defensively, Williams has to breathe fire in Elissalde’s face, make the position feel an uncomfortable, alien experience. If Williams can catch him man and ball a few times and force him into the waiting arms of Rush on other occasions Toulouse can be rattled.

Kelleher will probably tighten the game and attack through the pack. That will be no easy offence to repel but better to defend one congested area than the myriad of options Toulouse unleash from every inch of the pitch. On the Blues scrum ball, Rush will surely target the fly-half for some steamroller treatment. Elissalde is a very special player who merits some extra special treatment. If the Blues fail to apply it they are out of Europe.

Toulouse may be superior in 90% of all areas but if Williams can crack the umbilical link between forwards and backs, who knows? Williams has prime responsibility for handling Elissalde; he also has the small matter of dealing with Thierry Dusautoir, the dynamo that charges the Toulouse defence. His arrival from Biarritz has led to the cultural shift in the way Toulouse play. Williams has to get to the tackle area before him and control the battle for possession and continuity. The odds are against the Blues but with Martyn Williams in the form of his life they are not overwhelming.

Cardiff’s best shot: target Elissalde

Netting the No 10 In defence, tighthead prop Taufa'ao Filise drives the scrum up and round, putting the Toulouse back row out of commission, and allowing Martyn Williams, left, and No 8 Xavier Rush a shorter path to close down playmaker Jean-Baptiste Elissalde

Exposing Elissalde In attack, loosehead prop Gethin Jenkins puts the wheel on, again to take the Toulouse back row out of commission, this time allowing Rush to pick up and run straight at Elissalde and to slip the ball to Williams if he is tackled

TV match

Toulouse v Cardiff Blues

Today, Sky Sports 2, 2.30pm, kick-off 3pm