Saturday's 17th Heineken Cup Final may be the biggest game in the northern hemisphere's club calendar but the tournament has a long and proud history of southern influence as well.

With this weekend’s showdown set to be viewed in numerous nations on the other side of the equator, here’s our A to Z of southern hemisphere links since the competition’s inception back in the 1995/96 season:

A Andrew Small, who was born in Ashburton, New Zealand, is the only southern hemisphere-born referee to take charge of a Heineken Cup match. He controlled matches in every Pool round and refereed both 2012 finalists, Leinster and Ulster.

B Bob Dwyer may have won the World Cup with Australia but he wasn’t able to add the Heineken Cup to his coaching CV. He spent two seasons at Leicester Tigers and helped them to reach the 1997 final in Cardiff and the quarter-finals the next season. Both times French teams, Brive and Pau, ended his side’s dreams.

C Coach Warren Gatland guided London Wasps to victory at Twickenham in 2004 to become the first southern hemisphere head coach to win the Heineken Cup. That season Wasps did the English Premiership and Heineken Cup double, only the third team since 1996 to achieve a domestic and European double after Toulouse (1996) and Leicester Tigers (2001, 2002). Australian coach Michael Cheika followed Gatland in 2009 when he led Leinster to victory, and New Zealand’s Joe Schmidt also guided Leinster to success last season.

D Argentina-born Diego Dominguez still holds the record for the number of points scored in a Heineken Cup Final. He potted 30 points for Stade Francais against Leicester Tigers in 2001 in Paris, yet still ended up on the losing side.

E Rocky Elsom made a massive impact on the European scene when he spent a season at Leinster. He helped steer them into their first Heineken Cup final and then picked up the man of the match award as they beat Leicester Tigers at Murrayfield.

F Wellington-born Perry Freshwater joined South African Glenn Gelderbloom in picking up two winners’ medals with Leicester in 2001 and 2002. Freshwater went on to qualify to play for England and has been playing in France with Perpignan since 2003.

G Glenn Gelderbloom picked up two Heineken Cup winners medals in two seasons with Leicester Tigers, yet only played eight minutes of the 160. He was a 76th minute replacement against Stade Francais in Paris in 2001 and then again against Munster in Cardiff in 2002. The former Western Province and Border Bulldogs centre was the first South African winner in the Heineken Cup and now coaches at Oakham School.

H Doug Howlett joined the elite group of players who have won Super Rugby and Heineken Cup titles when he helped Munster take the European title for the second time in 2008 with a victory over Biarritz Olympique at the Millennium Stadium.

I Isaac Boss, born in Tokoroa, New Zealand, will be hoping to win a second Heineken Cup winners’ medal at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday as part of the double-chasing Leinster team. The Ireland international scrum-half will be playing against his former team mates, Ulster.

J John Afoa is in line to return to the Ulster pack after missing the Heineken Cup semi-final win over Edinburgh having been cited for a dangerous tackle in his side’s quarter-final triumph over Munster. He is bidding to become the 14th New Zealand-born player to win the Heineken Cup.

K Rod Kafer was the first player to win a Super 12 title and a Heineken Cup winners’ medal. He helped the Brumbies win in 2001 and then headed north to become part of the Leicester Tigers side that made it back-to-back Heineken Cup titles in 2002.

L Pat Lam is the only non-European captain of a Heineken Cup winning team. He led Northampton Saints to victory over Munster at Twickenham Stadium in 2000. The New Zealand-born Samoan international received the trophy along with Northampton’s England back row stalwart, Tim Rodber.

M Longoteme, Tonga, brothers Finau Maka and Isitolo Maka were in the Toulouse team that became the first side to win the Heineken Cup three times when they beat Stade Francais Paris at Murrayfield in 2005. Finau also won the title with Toulouse in 2003. There were the fourth and last set of brothers to win the Heineken Cup.

N Isa Nacewa is the only Fiji international to have won a Heineken Cup winners’ medal. He was in the Leinster side that triumphed in both 2009 and 2011. He will be aiming for a third victory at Twickenham this weekend.

O Openside specialistJosh Kronfeld picked up a Heineken Cup winners medal with Leicester Tigers in 2002, yet never made it off the replacements bench in the final. He played four times in the Pool stages during that year’s tournament.

P Pumas lock Patricio Albacete has figured in three European finals, finally picking up a winners’ medal in 2010. That was as part of the victorious Toulouse team in the Heineken Cup Final. He was a loser with them in 2008 and also ended as a runner-up with Pau in the Amlin Challenge Cup final in 2005 against Sale Sharks.

Q Queensland Reds old boy Pat Howard became the first Australian to win the Heineken Cup in 2001 when he was part of the Leicester Tigers team that beat Stade Francais in Paris. He was part of the coaching team both that season and next, when they won the title again, and was in charge when the Tigers lost to London Wasps in the 2007 final at Twickenham Stadium

R New Zealand lock Grant Ross became the first non-European to win a Heineken Cup medal when he helped French club Brive take the title in Cardiff in 1997.

S Joe Schmidt led Leinster to European glory in his first season in charge in Dublin and is now trying to become the first overseas coach to win the Heineken Cup back-to-back. In the semi-finals he plotted the downfall of his former club, ASM Clermont Auvergne, who are coached by fellow Kiwi Vern Cotter.

T Brad Thorn is all set to become the oldest player in a Heineken Cup Final – at the end of a season in which he became the oldest winner of a World Cup medal.

U Tana Umaga managed 13 minutes of European action during his time at Toulon – as a 67th minute replacement in the 2010 Amlin Challenge Cup Final. Had Toulon beaten Cardiff Blues they would have qualified for the Heineken Cup for the first time.

V Mark Van Gisbergen was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, yet ended up playing for England. He scored 17 points in the 2004 Heineken Cup final to help London Wasps beat Toulouse. He won a second medal in 2007, becoming the only Kiwi to win two titles.

W Australian scrum-half Chris Whitaker was a Heineken Cup winner with Leinster in 2009 and then became their team manager, working with Aussie coach Michael Cheika. The two then moved to Stade Francais Paris, where they took the French side to the 2011 Amlin Challenge Cup Final.

X Xavier Rush reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals with Cardiff Blues for the third time this season, losing to Brad Thorn’s Leinster in Dublin. The former Auckland Blues skipper, who earned Super 12 and NPC honours in New Zealand, was a semi-finalist in 2009.

Y Raratonga-born Stan Wright is the only Cook Islander to play in a Heineken Cup Final and was the first overseas player to pick up a yellow card in a final. He propped up the Leinster scrum when they beate Leicester Tigers in Edinburgh in 2009.

Z Federico Mendez the former Argentine front row man,won the Heineken Cup with two different clubs – Bath as a replacement in 1998 and Northampton Saints in 2000. In 2000 he had Puma prop Martin Scelzo alongside him.