Montauban’s Clarkin hopes to put name in lights once again

THERE’S probably quite a few rugby players who will look back on their careers filled with pride but there’s not many folks who can say that they’ve hounded and harried Frodo Baggins and Ronan O’Gara in the same breath.

That’s a claim to fame that Montauban backrower Matthew Clarkin could easily make but that just wouldn’t be the 28 year-old Kiwi’s style.

Born into a polo-playing family in Waikato and blessed with the same horse riding ability, Clarkin appeared as one of the ‘Dark Riders’ or Ringraiths in the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

“I was one of the seven dead kings,” admits Clarkin. “It was all a bit random. I was just out of school and I wasn’t doing much and I got a call from a friend who was working on the movie and they said they were looking for big, tall guys who could ride. So I went down there and they told me to jump on a horse and ride around.”

Clarkin’s career has taken a different path since his spell working on motion pictures and he’s spent the last five years playing for Montauban in deepest, darkest southwest France. Last weekend’s heavy defeat away to Clermont Auvergne was, he contends, something of a one-off.

“We were very disappointed by the result against Clermont,” he says, adding, “I’ve been here a few years and it’s the heaviest result I’ve played in. But the reality is that we didn’t play very well. For us, it was a speed bump.”

Speed bump or not, it’s been a season of ups and downs for the Tarn-based club. The well-documented financial problems have been sorted at last, thankfully. And their domestic form has been solid yet again this season.

But it was their first year of Heineken Cup participation which caught the eye in particular. That win against Sale Sharks in Sapiac back in December was a great day for the club, but it was that first match against Munster in Thomond Park that sent tongues wagging around Europe.

Clarkin still pinches himself when he thinks of that day back in October. Montauban were minutes away from causing the biggest upset in Heineken Cup history and the Kiwi played a central role, keeping the Munster back row honest.

“It was unbelievable,” he admits. “When you leave New Zealand and you give up that dream of playing for the All Blacks, playing against the Heineken champions in Thomond Park remains the next best thing.

“It’s also probably the closest you’re ever going to get to it so for me it was like the pinnacle.”

That performance became the turning point of Montauban’s season according to Clarkin, but he is under no doubt as to the Herculean performance needed from his side if they are to go one better and beat Munster.

“They’re a pretty complete side so it’s hard to disrupt them. I think that in the game over there we probably put them under enough pressure to keep us in the game.

“At the same time I think we were a bit naïve offensively and I think that’s where Munster’s experience counts. We have a good defensive lineout and they’ve a hell of a lineout but if we can cut the supply there then it’s a start.”

Montauban’s chances of knockout participation may have long since diminished, but there is a palpable sense of excitement being generated in anticipation of Munster’s arrival.

“It’s a massive deal for Montauban,” explains Clarkin. “The town and our own supporters are pretty excited about the whole thing.”

French sides may have had a disastrous Heineken Cup but Clarkin is determined that Munster will have to fight for their home quarter final.

“We know how well we’re capable of playing. It’s not in our mentality to make life easy for Munster, especially on an occasion like this. Nothing in life comes for free.”

Tony McGahan has been warned.