Rugby:Joe Schmidt will be back among old friends when Leinster travel to Clermont this weekend but the Kiwi admits he will have mixed feelings when he leads his side out at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
Schmidt spent three years working alongside Vern Cotter at the French champions before leaving for Dublin this summer. And he has nothing but fond memories of his time in the Auvergne, not least helping them finally claim the French Top 14 title.
Nevertheless, as he prepares to make his first trip back to his old stomping ground as a coach, Schmidt is expecting anything but a relaxing afternoon at the office.
Leinster, who overcame Clermont in the quarter-finals last year as Butch James kicking deserted him, currently top Pool 2 following wins over Racing Metro 92 and Saracens. It is a situation a Clermont will seek to remedy over the next fortnight.
“I am viewing it as probably a cold December day in a cauldron and I know we are going to get a really hot reception on the field,” Schmidt said of Saturday’s match. “We are going to have a real battle to try to keep our heads above water.
“We had a fantastic game of footie when the two sides met last season. Clermont scored three tries to two that night, but left 26 points in missed kicks out on the field.
“Leinster were lucky to get their noses over the line, but they showed all the character we knew they had. What I learned last season is you can’t go to a place like Clermont and just look to try to get a bonus point out of it. Leicester tried that and they had 40 points and five tries put into them.
“You have got to go to Clermont and play against them. We just want to let the result take care of itself by playing as well as we can. Hopefully, we can get something out of the game and take some confidence into the second leg.”
Clermont’s international scrum half Morgan Parra, who recently signed a new contract with the club, will be welcoming Schmidt back but warned Leinster his side have revenge on their minds.
“Last season we missed out on qualification for the Heineken Cup semi-finals by just one point against Leinster and that was hugely frustrating,” he said.
“We know we could well have won that quarter-final so we know we have the potential to win against them this time round.