Tough task for Leinster after ‘crap’ cup draw
The Leinster chief executive bluntly said it was a “crap” draw for the 2009 champions, given they face Schmidt’s most recent club, French champions, Clermont Auvergne, Saracens and Racing Metro 22
Dawson was still reeling from the news when he said: “We will be playing the best team in France, the richest team in France and the second best team in England; it will be interesting! It’s going to be very tough; I’d call it crap, but there’s nothing anyone can do about it but face up to the challenge.
“I suppose we have experience in our favour in the sense that Racing Metro haven’t been in the competition before, Saracens haven’t a huge amount of experience but that’s only trying to find a few shreds of comfort.”
New coach Schmidt was hardly be over the moon either; days after leading Clermont to an historic French Championship win, he now faces having to prepare the Irish side for battle against his old club. “I’d say that was the last team Joe would have wanted in the group,” said Dawson.
Indeed it was the draw Schmidt feared more than anything, although there was a small positive. The 44-year-old, on a break back home in New Zealand, was at least content that he won’t have to do much homework on one of his three rivals! The former Auckland Blues assistant coach has spent the past four seasons as backs coach at Clermont, finally delivering the Bouclier de Brennus after three seasons as the Top 14 bridesmaids.
There was success in Europe in the Challenge Cup in 2007 and a quarter-final berth in the Heineken Cup last season – against Leinster in Dublin. That ended in a 29-28 defeat at his new home, the RDS, and more than a few thoughts about what might have been as Clermont left 26 potential points in kicks on the field.
“What a pool to be in – Leinster reached the Magners League Grand Final, Clermont are the French champions, Saracens all but won the Guinness Premiership final and Racing-Metro, who Clermont only just beat 21-17 in the Top 14 play-offs,” said Schmidt.
“I’m not sure how these draws are made, but I just seem to get the hard ones. In my first season in the Heineken Cup, Clermont were drawn with Munster, Wasps and a Scarlets side that had gone unbeaten through to the semi-finals the previous season.
“Then last season we had the Ospreys and Leicester Tigers to contend with. Now I find myself back in one of those ‘Pools of Death’ again.
“It is going to be a great pool for the spectators and the tournament as a whole, but it is going to be tough. I obviously know the Clermont team very well and it will be nice to link up with them again – I just wish it hadn’t have been quite so quickly.”
As for Clermont, team manager Neil McIlroy admitted his side will be keen to avenge last season’s single point defeat by Leinster in the quarter-finals.
“One kick would have made all the difference in Leinster and probably put us through to the semi-finals. We felt if we had had a home draw, we would have gone through,” said McIlroy.
“But we still feel we laid down another marker in Europe last season and winning the French Championship will have done wonders for our confidence. We know Leinster in particular will present us with a huge challenge, but there are no easy matches.”
Ulster will have pull the plug on Bath again to reach the knockout stages for the first time since they won the competition back in 1999.
Ulster have been grouped in Pool 4 alongside the Premiership giants as well as French hot-shots Biarritz and newly-formed Italian franchise Aironi.
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