The man mountain Soane Tonga'uiha has been a rock for Northampton this season and will be unmoved by Ulster tactics today according to the Independent on Sunday's Hugh Godwin.
"When Soane Tonga'uiha says it is destiny that Northampton will reach this season's Heineken Cup final, you are inclined to agree – and not just because a simple raise of the eyebrow from this huge son of the South Pacific might split the ceiling, cartoon-style, of the hospitality box where we meet. Whereas the Saints were knocked out at the quarter-final stage away to Munster in 2010, the Irish must come to them today, albeit Ulster travel to Milton Keynes rather than Franklin's Gardens. The winners are guaranteed a "home" draw in the semi-finals – Northampton would use the same venue – and Tonga'uiha says: "It's a massive plus for us. It's almost like it was destined for us to get to the final."
"Northampton won the cup in 2000 but there are no survivors playing today, and they hope the "learning curve" moment everyone in Europe appears to subscribe to was in Limerick 12 months ago. As the 20-stone Tongan-born, New Zealand-raised loosehead prop recalls, they played well but were beaten by age-old tactics. "We got into too many of those one-on-ones off the ball," Tonga'uiha says. "Munster had been around the block and we hadn't. We learnt we need to take it on the chin and move on to the next play. To stay composed and not panic if we're behind or down to 14 men."
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