Smith vows to fight fire with fire against physical Perpignan
The Exiles have bitter memories of their pool defeat to the Catalans at the Stade Aime Giral in December, when England prop Perry Freshwater shattered Kieron Roche’s cheekbone with a swinging elbow.
Perpignan play in the way of old-school French teams and it has not gone unnoticed in the London Irish camp how their recent victory over Top 14 champions Stade Francais was built on a brutally physical approach up front. The game erupted into mass brawls early on and despite Stade boasting the creative talents of Juan Martin Hernandez, David Skrela and Ignacio Corleto they never got a foothold in the game.
Smith insists London Irish want to win today through flair, not fist — but they also acknowledge that matching Perpignan’s early physicality will be key to recording a famous victory.
“We are ready to match muscle with muscle. If things get a bit tasty people will protect themselves. That is natural,” said Smith.
“We don’t take it personally. We don’t think we are the only team they try and rough up. It is just the way they are. They try and manhandle teams and we are expecting the same thing. We have to come ready for a physical confrontation.
“We have 22 blokes who are very courageous, know how to look after themselves and stick together. That has always been the London Irish way.
“We are not a side that looks to incite those sorts of things but we won’t walk away from it.
“But make no mistake, we are a team that wants to play rugby this weekend. We are confident in what we can achieve, it is just down to whether we are allowed to achieve it or not.”
With that, Smith and forwards coach Toby Booth issued a plea to Irish international referee Alan Rolland to keep a tight rein on ill-discipline.
Booth said: “Percy Montgomery has said the Premiership is quicker than the French league and they will need to slow us down. There is a legal way of doing that and an illegal way of doing that.
“The fact we have got a world-class referee is vital. We know it will be confrontational, we know there are potential discipline issues.
“Their first two scrums against Stade Francais both ended up in full-on 15-man brawls. We have got to be ready for that.
“But we are relying on a world-class referee delivering world-class standards of refereeing.”
London Irish know victory is possible having beaten Perpignan 24-16 at the Madejski Stadium during the pool stages of the tournament in December.
They have the veteran Mike Catt back at fly-half with exciting youngster Shane Geraghty included on the bench after nearly two months out with knee ligament damage.
“As a club we have certainly been on the move over the last few years and this is a great opportunity,” said Smith.
“This is certainly the biggest fixture since Boothy and I have been together with the team.
“We are down to the top eight teams in Europe and it is time for our biggest match.
“We would all feel very empty if we don’t take this opportunity. We actually believe we have something more to offer in this competition.
“If we can get through Perpignan we have a shot. Wherever we are alive in this competition we are a threat. We have got to be taken seriously.
“We are seeded two for a reason. We scored the second-highest number of tries in Heineken Cup history in the pool stages so we have got to be taken seriously as an attacking threat.”
If London Irish manage to dispose of Perpignan today, their reward will be a semi-final against the European giants Toulouse or Cardiff at Twicken-ham.
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