Schmidt braced for ‘hot reception’ in Clermont cauldron

LEINSTER head coach Joe Schmidt admits he will have mixed feelings when he returns to Stade Marcel Michelin to face former club Clermont Auvergne in Saturday’s Heineken Cup Pool Two clash.

Schmidt was on the French club’s coaching staff for three years, climaxing with Clermont landing their first national title last season, although going out to Leinster in Dublin in a 29-28 Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat.

He now takes his unbeaten Leinster side to France with a four-point advantage over his old employers but when asked if he was looking forward to the return, Schmidt replied: “Yes and no.

“I am viewing it as probably a cold December day in a cauldron and I know we are going to get a really hot reception on the field. We are going to have a real battle to try to keep our heads above water.

“I really like the way Clermont play. They look to use the ball and are a positive team. They throw big numbers in at ruck time and really hurt to make you get the ball back.

“What I learned last season is you can’t go to a place like Clermont and just look to try to get a bonus point out of it. Leicester tried that and they had 40 points and five tries put into them.

“You have got to go to Clermont and play against them. We just want to let the result take care of itself by playing as well as we can.

“Hopefully, we can get something out of the game and take some confidence into the second leg.”

Leinster are in good spirits after rallying from 17-5 down at the weekend to draw 17-17 with Magners League rivals Scarlets, a performance which followed on from a first defeat in seven matches at the hands of Ospreys.

Isaac Boss, Jason Harris-Wright, Cian Healy and Jamie Heaslip are all in contention for selection after missing the Scarlets games last Friday and there were no fresh injury concerns announced yesterday with the team expected to be named on Friday. A decision on Brian O’Driscoll’s jaw injury will be made on the same day.

Schmidt is under no illusions about the task.

“It was good to get the draw (with Scarlets), but I see Clermont in the Heineken Cup at a whole different level,” he said.

“I was looking at the highlights of the Championship final last year recently and listening to a bit of the speaking afterwards when we got back to town. Aurelien Rougerie, the skipper, told everyone that now we have the Championship it is time to have a go at Europe.

“They are not hiding their ambitions and I think they have the firepower to do really well. It was their fourth successive final and their first victory in 11 attempts at that stage.