Ugo Monye looks for his final vindication

Last summer, Ugo Monye turned down a double-your-money offer from Racing Metro to stay at Harlequins - and he did so for days like today.

Harlequins tackle Stade Francais, who Racing have usurped as rugby's big players in Paris, in the Amlin Challenge Cup final at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Victory would secure Harlequins their first piece of silverware since 2004 and a route back into the Heineken Cup, after they finished a disappointing seventh in the Aviva Premiership.

"I was seriously tempted to go to France but this is my ninth season at Harlequins and I felt my work here was not done. I stayed for moments like tomorrow," Monye said yesterday.

"I have only won one major trophy and I didn't want to leave and look back in five years and think I'd had nine good years but I hadn't achieved that much.

"I knew the potential of the boys, and I wanted to be around. This is a real opportunity for us to do something special and it shows I made the right decision."

Harlequins face a Stade Francais team in a very similar position. They too missed out on automatic Heineken Cup qualification and victory tonight would rescue their season.

England duo Tom Palmer and James Haskell both start for Stade, who will be captained by Italian talisman Sergio Parisse. "After a disappointing domestic season - we finished 11th in the French Top 14 Championship - there is still a chance to make a success of the campaign if we can defeat Quins," said Palmer.