Jennings: all about getting balance right
Personal scores, which normally dilute of their own accord through the passing of time, remain fresh in the memory when teams go head-to-head for the second time in a week, and that adds a potential pinch of sulphur into an already spicy pot of fixtures.
Like Munster, Leinster will be facing an opponent that took a dislike to their tactics at the breakdown in the first ‘leg’ but Shane Jennings appeared less than bothered by Vern Cotter’s accusation that the Irish side showed a lack of respect last weekend.
“If you show teams too much respect, you are obviously beaten before you go there, so you have to get the balance right,” he states.
“Of course we respect them. They have a quality squad and a quality side.
“They came over here last year and played very well. If we were being honest about it, we probably didn’t deserve to win. We gave them the respect they deserved, that was all. We will do the same again this week.”
Joe Schmidt is of the belief that Cotter’s words were aimed at his own side’s dressing room rather than the one across the corridor at the Stade Marcel Michelin last Sunday and it isn’t difficult to understand the origin of their frustrations.
Last April, Clermont dismantled the Leinster scrum in that quarter-final but there was no repeat last Sunday against a Leinster pack that started with an entirely different front row and which has clearly put in some serious hours with scrum consultant Greg Feek.
“They do back themselves, like the majority of French packs,” said Jennings. “They rate themselves in the scrum and have a good scrum. They have got a good front five and I’m sure they will have a bit of a chip on their shoulder about it this week. We realise we are certainly not the world’s best scrum but we are not the world’s worst scrum and we have done a bit of work on it this week. We realise the eight of us are going to have to work very hard again if we are to match them.”
Schmidt is confident Leinster can up their performance in the scrum today but he also believes they will need to and that such improvements will have to be visible around the park if a vital home win is to be secured at a near-full Aviva Stadium.
The Kiwi has also identified a lineout which at times leaked possession on its own put-in as well as an improved execution rate in the tackle against a side that has openly declared its intention to conquer Europe, having finally conquered France last season.
If they are to do that, then this is the type of game they have to start winning — on a huge stage against one of Europe’s blue bloods.
Clermont’s home form in Europe is impressive, their efforts away from home less so and that goes for both Heineken Cup and the Top 14.
Since adopting their current guise of Clermont Auvergne six years ago, they have played 13 Heineken Cup games on the road and won just three against such non-glittering opposition as Viadana, Montauban and a Scarlets team that had long been eliminated. In domestic competition this season, they have lost six of their seven games “a l’exterieur” with the only success coming last August against a poor Bourgoin outfit that currently lies nine points adrift at the bottom of the table.
“They haven’t travelled so well this year but a lot of teams don’t tend to travel so well in the Top 14,” said Schmidt. “When they really target games they go there and get their results, as a rule.
“I remember with Clermont two years ago, we lost to the bottom team, Mont-de-Marsan — who got relegated — with a pretty useful team down there and the next week came out and Munster were lucky to escape with a bonus point from Stade Marcel Michelin. So, they do pick and choose a bit, the French, but I think they have chosen us, without doubt.”
With a physical pack, dangerous half backs, a bruising midfield and serious speed out wide, they present a daunting front but Stuart Barnes is among those to suggest that they have yet to run off the champagne after ending a century’s wait for the French title in May. Their position in their domestic standings — midway and nine points off the lead after 13 rounds — would seem to illustrate that point perfectly but they demonstrated enough last week to suggest that they are beginning to rediscover their rhythm.
“I keep an eye on them because I’m a distant supporter,” said Schmidt, “except on weekends when they play us and the early part of the season is always a bit jumbled. There were probably people saying the same thing about Leinster, to be honest. At the same time, their performance was pretty good last week and, no disrespect to Stuart Barnes because I think he has his finger on the pulse, but if that was below par for them I’d hate to think when they really hit their straps what they’ll be like.”
What odds on another classic?
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