The perils of putting on the ’Ritz

BIARRITZ is a beautiful seaside town. Perhaps not quite as beautiful as San Sebastián, but there is very little in it.

Similar to San Sebastián, the beach is right in the centre, not unlike Youghal beach in East Cork (although admittedly ‘not unlike’ in the way Dom Perignon is not unlike sparkling cider).

The Biarritz press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Heineken Cup quarter-final with Munster was held close to the beach, in the town’s premier hotel, and chaired by the club’s larger-than-life president Marcel Martin.

Rather strangely, Martin was flanked by the town mayor but, once questioning commenced, that puzzle was swiftly solved. The mayor was present to field flak from a gaggle of local news journalists, who had turned up demanding an explanation as to why the game was transferred to San Sebastián in Spain, taking valuable revenue out of Biarritz.

For a full 20 minutes, Martin and the mayor played forward defensive strokes, using the entirely reasonable argument that Biarritz’s Stade Parc des Sports d’Aguil was simply too small for a match of this significance and it made far greater sense to relocate to San Seb’s 32,500 Estadio Anueta.

In truth, it was hard to fathom what all the moaning was about - Biarritz will receive plenty of revenue from the estimated 3,000 Munster supporters basing themselves there.

When they eventually got around to talking about rugby, it was pretty routine stuff.

Yes, Biarritz respect Munster’s European pedigree. No, they do not think the loss of Ronan O’Gara makes their task any easier and, of course, even though Biarritz are hot favourites they are expecting a very tough encounter.

There were three Biarritz players present, the captain Thomas Lievremont, scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili and back-rower Imanol Harinordoquy (who was clearly having difficulty keeping his eyes open).

Though they made half-hearted attempts to disguise it, the sense of complacency emanating from Harinordoquy and Yachvili was all-too evident.

It is clear that the thought of losing to an aging, injury-ravaged Munster has not entered their heads.

“Peter Stringer is very experienced and very good at controlling the forwards but, to me, he is just another player,” opined Yachvili at one point.

It may not be Alan Gaffney’s style but, in Declan Kidney’s time as Munster coach, that quote would have been a cert for the dressing-room wall.

By contrast, when it was eventually possible to get him alone, Lievremont was full of respect for his opponents.

Perhaps it was because he had faced Munster before.

“Yes, I played against Munster in 2001, also in the quarter-final, in Limerick. It was a fabulous game because, even though we lost, it was such a splendid experience in Limerick.

“The silence when you are kicking at goal and the applause when you play well, it was tremendous. For me, it was one of the best games in my career.”

That career has taken Lievremont around the block a few times and his visage bears testament to the journey.

The number eight has that tough hombre look of the old-style French forward, the same steely glint once sported by the likes of Laurent Rodriguez, Eric Champ and Olivier Merle.

First capped in 1996 against Wales, the 31-year-old has 25 international appearances on his CV but spent three years in the wilderness after France’s 48-19 defeat by England in 2001. He returned to feature in France’s grand slam run last year but has since given way to club-mates Serge Betsen, Harinordoquy and Bourgoin’s up-and-coming Julien Bonnaire.

The wilderness years are something Lievremont has in common with his opposite number tomorrow, as Anthony Foley was studiously ignored by Ireland in the late 1990s after being capped as a youngster in 1995.

The two have much else in common, not least their style of play, and Lievremont rates Foley as one of the best in the business.

“I think he is the top number eight in Europe. I have played against Foley for Biarritz and for France against Ireland. Also, whenever I see him on television he impresses me, a very clever player who does not make mistakes.

“As a number eight myself, I like the way Foley plays his rugby. Other number eights do not play the same way.”

It is from Foley and his forward colleagues that Lievremont believes the biggest threat will come tomorrow.

“The scrum and line-out will be very important and Munster are very strong in both areas. We conceded eight throws in the line-out in our match with Stade (Francais) last week. We won the game (it was a 41-3 rout) but lose possession like that against a side like Munster and you will also lose the game.

“We will try to play our quick game but we know that Munster’s defence is very strong.”

In terms of his own international career, the Biarritz captain is realistic about his chances of earning a recall from Bernard Laporte.

“I would love to play for France again, of course, playing for your country is the highest honour you can achieve. But, I am 31, and I think with Betsen, Harinordoquy, Bonnaire and Nyanga playing such good rugby, it is unlikely to happen.”

Time was, French teams could barely feign enthusiasm for European competition (indeed, Bourgoin still struggle based on this season’s limp effort) but Lievremont believes that situation has now changed, certainly in Biarritz.

“I remember when the president (Martin) said winning the European Cup was more important than winning the French championship. There was some surprise when he said that but, for the players, the Heineken Cup is now just as important as the championship.

“Our own competition is still a big incentive, there is so much history and tradition behind it, but we very much want to win Europe. Last year, we lost the semi-final to Toulouse and that was such a disappointment.

“This year we are determined to do better.”