Undaunted by visit to the French champions

RUGBY: JOHN O'SULLIVANfinds Leinster's scrumhalf in relaxed mood as the team, despite some high-profile absentees, prepare to face Clermont

EOIN REDDAN exudes a practical and practised air when it comes to discussing Leinster’s next Heineken Cup outing at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin on Sunday. Treading warily might be overstating things a tad but entering the citadel of the French champions Clermont Auvergne warrants a certain pragmatism that neatly bisects respect and ambition.

The Leinster and Ireland scrumhalf didn’t feature for the Irish province almost eight years ago to the day when they managed a famous victory over the French club’s previous incarnation AS Montferrand. Things have changed appreciably for Clermont since quite apart from their name.

Last year’s success in the French Top 14 championship was the culmination of consistent excellence over several seasons that took them to the threshold of outright victory which they finally crossed before finally annexing the silverware.

Last year Leinster somehow escaped with a 29-28 quarter-final win over Clermont at the RDS, a venue to which the teams will return on Saturday week. First though Reddan will be hoping for a change of fortune when he returns to Marcel Michelin having lost there 37-27 with Wasps.

He recalled: “That was a very tough game. They finished very strong and that is probably something they focus on at home. They have a massive crowd and great supporters, very much like Leinster and Munster would have here.

“It is a great place to play. Like any French crowd, if you are playing good rugby they can sometimes get behind you, which is a bit strange. It is a tough place to play and referees are under a lot of pressure down there.”

He did however point out that England’s Wayne Barnes, who officiates on Sunday, is a strong referee who won’t balk at what will be a partisan maelstrom of noise. Reddan is likely to find himself ensconced in a duel, cheek by jowl, with Morgan Parra; a scrumhalf whom French coach Marc Lievremont has described as his general.

That statement may have lost a little of its lustre after the defeat to Australia but as Parra demonstrated in kicking 22 points against Toulouse last Saturday, he has put the Test-match thumping behind him. Reddan suggested: “He (Parra) is smart; he gets around the pitch and to breakdowns quickly. He moves ball quickly and is obviously a very good place-kicker so discipline is key.

“We all know that away from home in Europe you need discipline. We have a very good defence so we need to really trust the defence and not give him the chance to kick goals.”

Leinster coach Joe Schmidt won’t name his team until Friday lunch-time but the expectation is that he will be without Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald, Brian O’Driscoll and Andrew Conway.

There’s little to be gained from being downbeat or bemoaning what can not be altered so the emphasis for the Leinster players this week is to accentuate the positives.

Reddan explained: “It’s a big opportunity for the guys who come in. Some of the players who are missing took their big chance a few years ago and the players who do get to play will be thinking ‘this is my chance to have a go here’ and play some good rugby and further their career.

“So, there’s positives and negatives to it. Obviously you’d love to have everyone going down to Clermont because it’s such a tough place to play but on the other side you are going to have a good infusion of good players who haven’t played much and are looking forward to putting down a marker.”

One of the key areas this weekend will be the set-piece of lineout and scrum. French sides traditionally relish these collisions and on the basis of last year’s quarter-final it is an area Leinster know could be crucial to the outcome. Reddan pointed out that the team have tweaked their patterns in defence to try to facilitate a more competitive scrum.

“I know it sounds a bit weird but we realised the team needed to help the forwards as much as possible and maybe allow the backrow scrummage a bit longer. (It’s about trying to) adjust the way we defend so you have a full eight-man scrum for longer.”

Isaac Boss, Jason Harris-Wright, Cian Healy and Jamie Heaslip are all in contention for selection after missing Leinster’s 17-17 away draw with the Scarlets last Friday night.

The official line from the province is that O’Driscoll’s injury “is being monitored on an ongoing basis and a decision on his availability will also be made on Friday”.