France's Vincent Clerc tells MARK RODDENit's hard to pinpoint why he is so successful against Ireland

AS VILLAINS of the piece go, Vincent Clerc is an unusually likeable individual.

The scorer of eight tries in nine appearances against Ireland, images of his smiling face have been an all too familiar sight for Irish fans on match days over the past decade.

There was the match-winning try in the first rugby match played at Croke Park, a second-half double at the World Cup a few months later and a first-half hat-trick four years ago that again condemned Ireland to defeat at the Stade de France.

Before last autumn’s World Cup, the Toulouse wing had scored twice as many tries against Ireland as against any other team.

Yet Ireland’s bogeyman is a fan of both the country and its people, and says he gets on particularly well with the Irish players. Although given his record against Declan Kidney’s side – not to mention Connacht’s recent win over Harlequins, which spared Toulouse an early exit from European competition – perhaps he has good reason to feel such warmth towards the Irish.

“The Irish, I love them,” he said, laughing, when reminded of Connacht’s win over Harlequins. “It’s true that Connacht saved us but I thought it was well deserved because it was a very complicated pool.

“They should nearly have won twice away from home at Harlequins and Gloucester, where they really put in top quality performances. It was good that they were rewarded with a victory in the European Cup and it was good for us after we lost at Gloucester.”

As ever Clerc came across as both thoughtful and sharp-witted at the French headquarters this week, although that is hardly surprising considering he earned a masters in sports management in recent years and is also associate director of a sports marketing company. Still though, he finds it hard to pinpoint why he is so successful against Ireland.

“I think it’s totally by chance,” he said. “It’s difficult to explain why you score more against one team rather than another. I think it’s really down to our collective performance because we’ve often played well against Ireland. They’re also often matches that are very open and there are frequently a lot of tries.

“I don’t approach things any differently against Ireland. I play as I normally do but I like games where I get a lot of the ball and where there’s plenty of pace, and that’s often the case against Ireland.”

The 30-year-old was on the receiving end of Sam Warburton’s dangerous tip tackle in the World Cup semi-final and, having seen the Welsh flanker red carded in that match, Clerc is well placed to comment on the yellow cards that Bradley Davies and Stephen Ferris got during Ireland’s meeting with Wales last Saturday.

“I think the first sanction [Davies] was too small – I think he deserved a red,” Clerc said. “For me there wasn’t much in the second one. I don’t think I would have called a penalty for it – definitely not a yellow card anyway.”

With Ferris now cleared to play in Paris on Saturday, the Ulster backrow will be hoping to prevent Clerc from adding to his try count against Ireland. It was easy to guess which one the Frenchman remembers most fondly.

“Obviously it’s Croke Park in 2007,” Clerc smiled. “It was important for me to try [to] win my place in the World Cup squad. I scored in the last minute and there was an absolutely incredible atmosphere that day so it’s definitely among my best memories.”

Clerc will have plenty of high points to look back on in the future. His try against Italy last weekend was his 32nd for France, moving him level with French coach Philippe Saint-André and six behind Serge Blanco at the top of the all-time list. Whether he edges closer to that record on Saturday or not though, he will continue to appreciate this weekend’s opposition.

“I get on well with a lot of their players. We’ve often spent time together after a game so they’re a team I like. I find on a personal level they’re very likeable. Despite the high stakes that are there every time, we always enjoy ourselves off the pitch too.”

A nice sentiment but the Irish players will be praying that, come late Saturday night, Clerc will be congratulating them for a change.