Clermont focused on ‘enormous challenge’

CLERMONT AUVERGNE coach Vern Cotter was delighted with his side’s win in Sunday’s crunch Pool One encounter with Munster, but the New Zealander wasn’t getting carried away, describing next week’s return game in Thomond Park as an “enormous challenge” for his players.

“The aim was to put Munster under pressure and to remain patient,” Cotter said following his side’s 25-19 victory.

“We knew that if we began the second half in the same way that we started the first half, that there would be opportunities for us.

“We succeeded in doing that and as a result we’re very happy.”

However, the Kiwi also sounded a note of caution ahead of this weekend’s return match: “Now it’s going to be a very tough game over there, we know that, it will be even more intense than the game we had here — as well as that Munster’s new stadium will be filled to the rafters.

“It’s an enormous challenge, to try to win a game at Thomond Park.”

Second row Loic Jacquet was also putting the victory in perspective, but he couldn’t hide his pleasure with his side’s win over the European champions.

“It was a huge game against a fine team like Munster. We were completely involved in it, the collisions were very hard and intense — but it was a huge pleasure at the same time. You live to play in games like that, it’s what you train for.”

Jacquet also paid tribute to the quality in the Munster side: “It was intense, with practically the entire Irish team facing us. It was an honour to play against them and to beat them when we were led at half-time.

“We knew we had to find the resources to impose ourselves on them. We wanted to have a real go at them in a department they are the best, because we knew if we dominated their strong point, it would destabilise them.

“It was a long drawn-out process to wear them down but we didn’t panic.”

Clermont were sensational on the domestic front last season, finishing the Top14’s regular season in first place only to lose the grand final to Toulouse.

But they have made an inauspicious start to the 2008-9 campaign – they sit in mid-table and came into the weekend on the back of a defeat to the Top 14’s bottom side Mont-de-Marsan. Just like last season, when they again beat Munster at home in the group stages, they raised their game against the best in Europe.

Their heavy home defeat to Sale looked like it would cost them any chance of qualifying for the last eight, but Clermont go to Thomond Park next weekend with renewed hope.

“We are leaving that (thoughts of qualifying) to one side,” added Jacquet. “I don’t want to make any calculations, we are just taking each match as it comes. We beat Munster here. We are going to try to recover as much as possible, recharge our batteries and try to beat them at their place.

“We are going to go there with optimism.”

After three matches, Clermont lie two points behind group leaders Sale and a point behind Munster, though they must play both of those teams away in their last three outings.