Mallinder: Saints full of belief

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS’ director of rugby Jim Mallinder says his side will take a lot of belief from their performance in Friday’s narrow defeat at Munster as they face up to another trip to Limerick for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Munster won an enthralling game 12-9 to top Pool Six, but the losing bonus point proved crucial as Saints crept into the last eight as the final qualifiers, edging out Guinness Premiership rivals London Irish.

With Munster finishing as top seeds, Saints will return to fortress Thomond Park in early April, but Mallinder is preaching caution ahead of what will be another night of classic rugby.

“We were satisfied with how we competed on Friday night, especially in the set piece, the breakdown and in defence,” said Mallinder, whose side were described as ‘the real deal’ by Munster head coach Tony McGahan after their bruising encounter.

“It is an indication of how far we have come in the past two years that we were disappointed we didn’t win at a stadium where Munster have lost just once in European competition. The quarter-final seeding means we will have another chance to have a go at Munster in a few weeks, which will be a massive game.

“But the Heineken Cup is the toughest competition in club rugby and when you get to the knock-out stages every game is a difficult one. Either Biarritz or the Ospreys (in the semi-finals) would be very difficult opponents for us in what would be a tremendous occasion.

“It is a great incentive, but there is no point in looking past Munster for the time being, especially because we have first hand experience of playing at Thomond Park and how tough it can be.”

But Mallinder has also sounded a note of caution, telling his side they cannot get carried away with their success as the Six Nations looms large on the horizon.

He added: “We have a lot of rugby to play before we can start thinking about the next stages of the Heineken Cup. There are a few rounds of the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Premiership to be played, not to mention the Six Nations, in which both ourselves and Munster will have a lot of players representing their countries.

“So while the Heineken Cup quarter final is something for everyone at the club to look forward to, as a group of players and coaches we cannot get ourselves too carried away. We have got to this position by taking every game as it comes and we have to keep doing this.”

There is a decidedly French flavour to Leinster’s route to the Paris final. First up is Clermont Auvergne in the quarter-finals and should the champions progress they will be away in France to the winner of Toulouse and Stade Français Paris. Captain Leo Cullen is taking it one step at a time.

He said: “First up for us is Clermont. If we can get past them then we will start looking at the challenge of facing either Toulouse or Stade Français Paris. the quality of the teams left in the Heineken Cup is just unbelievable and this season the French teams have really hit back with their teams winning four of the six Pools. It has brought a French feel to the tournament and you have to say they are looking pretty formidable, particularly with the prospect for them of playing in the final in Paris in May.”

Meanwhile, Leicester Tigers chief executive Peter Wheeler has demanded a Heineken Cup replay over the Ospreys 16th man controversy.

The Tigers have already made a complaint over the Ospreys playing with an extra man for part of their 17-12 triumph at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

The confusion arose in the final quarter when Wales full-back Lee Byrne returned from the blood-bin and his replacement Sonny Parker stayed on for a brief period.

Tournament organisers European Rugby Cup are investigating the events – but Wheeler has now called for the game to be replayed.

“We were pressing on their line and we had three or four periods of attack during the time they had 16 men on the field,” said the former England captain. The player [Byrne] who came on interfered or was involved in at least two of them close to the line.

“Any neutral person who saw that happen would say it affected the result of the game.”

Asked what should happen next, Wheeler replied: “We want what is right and fair for that situation.

“The only way to put us back in that situation is to replay the game.

“It was our best opportunity of the match to score and we’ve inquired to ERC to say where do we go from here?”

Despite Leicester’s protestation, the Ospreys – who qualified for the last eight of the tournament and now visit Biarritz in the quarter-final – are likely to be hit with a fine rather than European expulsion.

Competition rules suggest the match result must stand, while England were fined £10,000 during the 2003 World Cup when wing Dan Luger featured as a 16th player for 34 seconds of their group stage win against Samoa in Melbourne.