James: We want to finish the work we started last year

The cold hard light of day.

It can be a painful place for a professional sportsman. Supporters are only too happy at times to wallow in a series of ‘what ifs’ when things don’t go their way but it’s a dangerous path for career professionals.

Cast your mind back to the Heineken Cup semi-final between Clermont and Leinster last April. With the game in its dying seconds and with the Leinster tryline at his mercy, Wesley Fofana lost control of the ball when scoring a try seemed to have been easier. Leinster escaped to win 15-9 and the rest is history. God only knows what nightmares Fofana suffered– although his Clermont teammate Brock James had a decent idea where his head was.

Leinster supporters will remember the day in 2010 when the French side stormed the battlements at the RDS, only for the affable Australian to miss 23 points – five penalties and three drop goals – and allow the shocked hosts sneak over the finish line 29-28. As nightmare scenarios go, it was the worst possible occasion in which to suffer the ‘yips’ but James’ and Clermont’s redemption came in the manner that they, like all great sporting icons, bounced back from that disappointment. Never looking back, always moving forward.

“I don’t think you should be constantly looking in the mirror – you’ve got to keep moving forward if you have hopes of winning the Heineken Cup,” admits James who is an injury doubt for today’s game. “I don’t know if we can say there will be any revenge when playing against Leinster. We showed last season we weren’t that far away from winning a game of that magnitude. We learned a lot from the defeat though.”

James will be forever remembered as one of the finest fly-halves of his era not to win an international cap. He appeared at U20’s and Sevens for the Wallabies and could well have won a fair few senior caps too, were it not for his decision to up sticks and set off for Europe in 2006.

This season, it’s been a case of so far so good once more for the French side. Unsaddled by World Cup commitments, coach Vern Cotter has been able to rotate his squad to maximum effect, a fact seemingly lost on the English clubs who believe it is only the Irish provinces that rest players with impunity.

“We’ve been amassing a really good group of players so we can afford to rotate the first XV just that little bit more. You have to keep all your players battle-hardened. Last year, we had a great run before losing in the semi-finals of the H Cup. This season, we want to finish the work we started last year.”