Rougerie: we’ll play ‘head screwed on’ rugby at Thomond

CLERMONT AUVERGNE’S hat-trick hero Aurelien Rougerie has warned his team-mates that they’ll come unstuck at Thomond Park next Sunday if they continue to play “heads in the air” rugby.

It’s a strange assessment of a Heineken Cup performance in which the French dismantled Llanelli by 48-21, but the Clermont winger explained yesterday: “In terms of preparation, I think we’ll just take things slowly and keep calm about the whole thing as we definitely need to be a bit more level-headed and clinical.

“Because we lacked caution at times in the game against the Scarlets, particularly when we had stretched the lead, and they came right back at us and almost took a bonus point. Munster have a lot of very seasoned internationals and they will be quick to take any chances we give them through carelessness or lack of caution. I’m sure they’ll be looking at the match to pick out our weak points.