Cotter confident of progression

ASM Clermont Auvergne coach Vern Cotter believes his side are in ‘a good position’ to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals ahead of Sunday’s crucial Pool Five game with Munster (Stade Marcel Michelin, 3pm, Sky Sports).

Though they trail table toppers Munster by four points and defending Heineken Cup holders London Wasps by three — and are without the suspended flanker Jamie Cudmore — the New Zealander has warned that the French outfit will be a much tougher proposition than that which crashed to a 36-13 defeat in Round Two at Thomond Park in November.

He explained: “We are going into this game against Munster in a good position and we were pleased with our recent performances.

“We had a run of really tough games, the back-to-backs against Wasps followed by two tough away matches in the Top 14, and to have come out of the other side of that is great.

“We want to start 2008 working on the areas where we have had problems in the first half of the season and taking a look at where this team is going.

“Earlier in the season there was a lot of talk about Clermont doing their best but not looking at qualification. Although this may have been the view from outside the club, we always believed that we deserved to be here and were capable of qualifying for the knock-out stages — even in this tough pool.

“It is going to go down to the wire and we always believed that we would be in the mix. We have got ourselves into a comfortable position in the league and are able to prepare for the Heineken Cup without the domestic worries some of the other teams are facing and we are 100% focused on the Munster match.

“This is a pretty simple situation. There are three teams — Wasps, Munster and ourselves — who are looking to qualify from this Pool and it’s going to come down to the last two matches. We know that if we can beat Munster, we have to take the game to Llanelli and we are looking at qualification.

“These are going to be two massive games for all three teams and nobody is going to give anything away. If Munster can upset us at home this weekend, then they are in a very strong position for the home match against Wasps.

“They are a strong side and export their game very well away from home — they have quality players all over the park and, on their day, are capable of beating anyone but we are confident and ready for this match.”

Cotter must plan without Cudmore who yesterday admitted to punching London Wasps prop Tim Payne at Adams Park last month.

The independent Disciplinary Committee determined that the offence was of mid-range in the level of seriousness and handed him a four week ban which ends on January 21st.

He added: “We had a slow start to the season, missing the World Cup players and then only having two matches before the Heineken Cup kicked off, and that threw us off balance but we have regrouped and are ready for this match.

“The team we fielded at Thomond Park was looked at as a second-string team but was part of our longer-term game-plan to have a large in-form squad to sustain us through a very long season.

“We are hoping to reap the benefits of this preparation through the second half of the season — starting with the match against Munster.”