Biarritz worried about Foley and pack
And the Irish team will not suffer through the absence of Ronan O’Gara, with Paul Burke set to play a similar game.
Those are the views of Biarritz skipper Thomas Lievremont and coach Patrice Laguisquet as they seek revenge over their Irish rivals for their 38-29 defeat in the last eight in 2001.
“The scrum and the line-out will be very important and Munster have the best No 8 in Europe in Anthony Foley. The axis of their side is still very strong,” said the Biarritz skipper.
“We lost eight line-outs against Stade Francais last week, but still won. We can’t afford to do that again.”
However, coach Patrice Lagisquet does not believe the loss of O’Gara will affect Munster’s chances of a win.
The Munster out-half was injured in a Celtic League match with Newport/Gwent Dragons last week but Lagisquet says Biarritz have a lot of respect for his replacement Paul Burke.
“O’Gara is a quality player but we know Munster play the same way with Burke at out-half. They are very organised and Burke is an experienced player. We would like if (O’Gara’s withdrawal) was a factor but I don’t think it will be.”
Lagisquet, the former French winger, known as the Bayonne Express in his playing days, believes the Munster pack represents the biggest threat to Biarritz’s hopes of progression.
“Munster are very strong in the forwards. They can stop you getting clean ball and they are hard to break down. They also have a tremendous capacity to upset your set-piece possession and are very good at winning turnover ball.
“We have seen a lot of Munster and their lineout is a big strength. They are very fast and organised in that area. The lineout could be the key.”
The fact that the match has been moved to San Sebastian in Spain has angered the business community in Biarritz who feel the town is missing out on valuable revenue.
Biarritz play in a municipal stadium, owned by the town council, but club president Marcel Martin says they had no option but to move the fixture. The Estadio Anoeta, home to Real Sociedad, has a capacity of 32,000 while Biarritz’s Stade Parc des Sports d’Aguil holds only 12,500.
“If we had five million euro, maybe we could expand our own stadium and increase the capacity,” said Martin, “but with so much interest in this match we had no choice but to move.
“We will see a fantastic occasion. This is Spain’s first Heineken Cup game and there is huge interest among the Spanish. We sold 8,000 tickets in Spain but could have sold 15,000. There are 8,000 gone to Munster and 16,000 gone to France so it should create a wonderful atmosphere.”
In terms of who will win, Lagisquet acknowledges that his side are favourites but refutes the suggestion that Munster are not the force they once were.
“I know the Munster team has not changed that much over the past few years but the players they have added have helped the side evolve. Munster have shown in the past that they have the capacity to win far from home.
“It is true we are favourites and we have had some good results recently but that can only give you so much confidence. If you think too confident that is when you lose.”
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