Blues ready to go up the gears to counter Exiles’ backlash
The Blues made an impressive start to their European campaign with a 26-20 victory over Racing Metro in Paris, the scoreline not reflecting their superiority, with the likes of World Cup returnees Sam Warburton, Bradley Davies and Gethin Jenkins making an impact.
But the Exiles suffered a surprise 20-19 home defeat at the hands of Edinburgh, and another loss on Friday night would leave Toby Booth’s side with a mountain to climb if they are to secure a quarter-final berth.
And Burnell, who has brought Dafydd Hewitt and Paul Tito into his side in place of injured Jamie Roberts (knee) and James Down (fractured and dislocated ankle), knows the Blues will need to kick on again to subdue the Irish backlash.
“You have to win your games in this competition, because they are all good sides,” he said.
“There will be reaction from them, they know they have to come here and win.
“If they don’t, they then have to face Racing Metro back to back next month, and you don’t want to be trailing by two games in a competition like this.
“We were elated with the win in Paris but on Monday morning it was back to the grindstone to focus on London Irish, we know we will have to go up another gear this week because they will be hurting.”
Burnell expects Irish to provide a different threat from the physical and direct approach of Racing, and has highlighted lineout technician Nick Kennedy and creative fulcrum Dan Bowden as critical figures.
“Their set-piece is very good,” he said.
“Their scrum went well last week and Kennedy runs the line-out well for them. Bowden the fly half is an innovative player and has a lot of skill, while Tom Homer is a fantastic kicker so they will pose a threat.”
Elsewhere in Pool Two, Edinburgh host Racing Metro at Murrayfield as they look to build on that excellent victory at the Madejski Stadium, while Clermont Auvergne look to get back on track following defeat to Ulster when they host Italian side Aironi in Pool Four.
Meanwhile, Saracens hooker Schalk Brits has received a three-week ban for a dangerous tackle during his team’s 42-17 Heineken Cup win over Treviso.
The former Springbok was cited after the tackle on Treviso’s wing Benjamin de Jager last Sunday.
Brits pleaded guilty to the transgression at a disciplinary hearing, where Saracens’ chief executive Edward Griffiths made submissions on his behalf.
Independent judicial officer Rod McKenzie upheld the citing complaint, decided it was at a mid-range level of seriousness with an entry point of six weeks. However, McKenzie reduced the punishment by 50% after he took into account Brits’ clean record, guilty plea and remorse.
If Brits does not appeal against the ruling, he will miss Saracens’ Heineken Cup clash with Biarritz tomorrow, followed by league matches against Northampton and London Irish.
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