Bad memories banished as James lines up for another crack at Leinster

BROCK JAMES is living proof that rugby players are made of sterner stuff mentally, as well as physically.

As nightmare scenarios go, the knockout stages of a Heineken Cup tie wouldn’t generally be the most ideal time for a goal-kicker to suffer a case of the ‘yips’ yet that’s exactly what happened to Clermont Auvergne’s James during last April’s quarter-final clash with Leinster at the RDS.

The 28-year-old Australian, whose metronomic kicking had seen him become top points scorer in France over the last few seasons, had a nightmare that day, missing five penalties and three drop goals before watching Clermont eventually lose 29-28.

Little more than seven months later, James and his team-mates are determined to right the wrongs of that day back in April, starting with a victory over Leinster at Stade Marcel Michelin on Sunday.

“Maybe we might kick our goals and play a bit more this time,” joked James. “We played well over there last season and to come so close to winning was obviously frustrating for us. Having played against them already, we’ve been able to discover a few things about them.

“I know they’ve changed a little, what with the coach changing. Obviously there are a few differences there. It’s motivating to know that we came so close but that now we’ve another chance.”

Much has changed since that fateful day in April. Within seven weeks of that loss in Dublin and in a telling advertisement for mental strength, Clermont were celebrating their first French Championship after 10 unsuccessful attempts.

But James believes that the exchange of mantles from that of perennial bridesmaid to champions means little in the context of the Heineken Cup. Clermont, he argues, did not become a good side overnight.

“I think the last few years that we’ve shown that we’re capable of winning these types of games,” he said. “It was a great feeling at the end of last season to know how hard we had worked over a number of years to have finally done it. It gave us huge satisfaction but I’m not sure it really affects this game.”

Clermont currently find themselves in seventh in the Top 14 after a slow start but were buoyed by last week’s 32-25 home win against Toulouse. Unbeaten at Marcel Michelin, Clermont have suffered on the road, with only one win at lowly Bourgoin to show for their troubles.

A win against Saracens and a bonus point defeat away to Racing Metro in the two rounds of Heineken action has made their back-to-back games against Leinster even more important.

“We had a sluggish start again to this season but last week was a good start to December for us. Then again, it’s a tough month.

“We’re placed in a really tough pool so we can’t really look too much further than the game ahead of us.

“We need a result this weekend because if we don’t, it’ll be very difficult for us to qualify.”

Much has been made of Leinster coach Joe Schmidt’s impact on proceedings given his history with the French side but James suggested that both teams had seen changes to management and structure since Schmidt left Clermont for Dublin at the beginning of the summer.

“I’m sure Joe has shared all his Clermont secrets with the Leinster boys,” chuckled James.

“On both sides we’ve moved on. He knows all the boys individually so maybe that might give him a bit of a foot up. That said, I worked with him closely and we know the kind of lines he likes to run and the type of game he likes to play.

“He could keep a lot of what made Leinster a great side and was able to add a few ideas of his own. But it’s sort of been the same for us. We’ve had six or seven months here without him so we’ve grown in that time and changed our processes a little bit too.”