Toulon may look to replicate aspects of La Rochelle and Northampton's templates when they take on Leinster in Saturday's Investec Champions Cup semi-final, according to former Munster back row James Coughlan.
The Cork man is currently based in France, serving as sporting director of ProD2 side Biarritz.
But previously, the ex-Pau player also worked on the staff at Toulon, who will be plotting a means of getting past Leinster in Saturday's showdown at Aviva Stadium.
Coughlan shared an insight into how Leinster are viewed on French soil leading into the game which contrasts with the esteem the province are held in by Toulon head coach Pierre Mignoni.
"It's a mixed bag to be honest. You pick up the papers and they're saying it's not the Leinster of old, that maybe they're an ageing team," he told RTÉ Radio 1's Inside Sport.
"Having worked with Pierre Mignoni, he has a huge amount of respect for Irish rugby when we played in the final of the Challenge Cup a couple of years ago against Glasgow.
"I brought him to a couple of the schools around Dublin to show them how with such a small rugby playing community, Ireland are able to produce high quality players.
"So I know Pierre especially has huge respect for Leinster. I think they'll be looking at what La Rochelle did in the group stages and certainly last year's semi-final with Northampton about how they're going to attack Leinster.
"Obviously, Leinster with their rush defence on the outside, where I found La Rochelle and particularly Northampton last season with small passes coming off nine, so you're avoiding winning the gain line close to the ruck, so you're avoiding that outside rush and then you're in behind the defence, that's where Leinster struggled.
"There are benefits and there are drawbacks to every system but it's just how the opposition will try to exploit them and I can see Baptiste Serin, Charles Ollivon, Gael Drean - the winger who made his debut for France during the Six Nations - these guys will be in and around the ruck looking for those short passes so that they can win the gain line and get in behind that Leinster defence."
Coughlan also highlighted Toulon's setpiece supremacy as an area that Leinster will have to contend with.
"They're probably statistically the best setpiece (team) in the Top 14," he said.
"They have got the best scrum and they've got the third or fourth lineout that they score a lot of mauling tries off of as well.
"So Joe McCarthy will have a big ask. He's so good at getting into those mauls and trying to disrupt the mauls on opposition, so he'll have a big day.
"But I think (Toulon) will be looking to have short passes, with Ben White coming on then and it will be a different option when Ben White comes on with more kicking (and) high balls.
"But Serin will definitely be sniping around the edges and have runners off him and looking to attack closer to the gain line."
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