Expect mother of all battles, warns Mick
O’Driscoll spent an injury-plagued two years with the French side and has warned his colleagues to be ready for one of the biggest physical challenges of the season.
Perpignan, he says, are no longer the typical French team; good at home and bad on the road. They have notched up quite a few victories on their travels and pride themselves in those achievements.
It’s a French club in a Catalan region and O’Driscoll says that is what makes them different. Ten days ago, Perpignan players travelled over the border into Spain to link up with the football heroes of Barcelona. It was, said O’Driscoll, a typical example of bonding with the Catalan people and also an opportunity to generate interest for their drive towards Heineken Cupglory.
“They feed off things like that; they would use that visit to try to generate sponsorship in the nearby Spanish market, whilst also raising the profile of the club in their own rugby-mad area,” he said.
O’Driscoll is back with Munster after spending two “interesting and enjoyable” years in Perpignan; back with more than a spattering of French and a good knowledge of what makes his former colleagues tick.
Munster coach Declan Kidney will have spent hours sifting through video footage of Perpignan games, but his consultations with O’Driscoll could be even more revealing.
He will point to further significant strides made by Perpignan this season. “Last year, for instance, they found it hard to win away from home, even though they took the odd scalp. This year they have been more consistent on the road. In the distant past, they were almost beaten before they travelled, even though they were always dangerous if they did ok for the first ten minutes.
“These past few weeks, they’ve beaten Montferrand and Bourgoin away from home, and that’s a substantial achievement for any French team. Now, they’re going to come over here brimming with confidence.”
But O’Driscoll is also well aware of how things can go badly wrong for the French. “What Munster need to do is to get on top of them. I have seen at first hand the way they react to pressure, especially when things go wrong. They will bitch and blame one another; they will blame anyone but themselves. It’s never their fault; it’s always the fault of someone else. Get them at one another, and you’re half way to beating them.”
O’Driscoll added: “They will be very physical; they’ll come into the game knowing that they have nothing to lose, they will play on the edge, they will kill the ball and try to get away with it; try to get away with anything to stop Munster conforming to the preferred game plan.”
But O’Driscoll is convinced that a semi-final place beckons for Munster, proclaiming the Irish side to be more rounded throughout the team.
“Apart from the obvious physicality that must be overcome, I believe Munster are a better team than Perpignan; I fully believe going into the game that, if we get the mindset right and manage to play on our terms, this is a game we will win. It won’t be easy, and it mightn’t be pretty, but we should get there in the end.”
However, he has happy memories of his time at Perpignan: “I was accepted immediately, once they recognised that I made an effort to learn the language, once they knew that I was there to train hard and play hard. That’s really all I could have asked for.”
Equally, he was warmly welcomed back into the Munster fold on his return and he has been one of the most outstanding forwards in Ireland and beyond this season. His form was good enough to win another Irish cap and recently captained Ireland A to victory over England A.
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