Leinster should beat their French visitors, but Munster will have to raise their game to get past Northampton

LAST FRIDAY I must have been the only person to depart Limerick and head to Dublin. On arriving at Birdhill, a new world opened up for me. I found myself zipping along, elevated over the Silvermines on the brand spanking new M7. The sun was shining and I was listening to the Waterboys, “Old England . . . is dying”. What a great little country we live in.

But more was to follow as Good Friday brought together the two best teams in Europe. Eighty minutes later three players had been sinbinned, one try had been scored and several kicks missed, and in the end one point separated the sides.

In the intervening days much has been analysed, particularly in the Munster game. Fault-finding if you like. But much bigger examinations await them.

So what will ASM Clermont Auvergne bring to the RDS tonight? Put simply, a lot of sledge-hammer rugby and a certain amount of baggage. On the announcement of the quarter-final draw I was most nervous for Leinster. I had been in Thomond Park last year to see Munster being pushed to the pin of their collar by Clermont. But for Marcus Horan and Niall Ronan’s late tries (12 points), it could have been so different. Character won it for Munster.

In Clermont, Munster scored once in the second half, a penalty from Ronan O’Gara that earned a bonus point. Clermont failed to kill them off.

Character is something this Leinster side have in abundance, not just because of Thomond Park last week but because of games such as Harlequins at the Stoop and Connacht in the RDS. But to beat Clermont tonight they have to understand that power is Clermont’s way.

Georgia tighthead Davit Zirakashvili is the living embodiment. Clermont, through Morgan Parra at scrumhalf, will look to find gaps around the fringes. He has a tendency to run up cul-de-sacs, but run he will. From lineouts, Clermont will opt for quick ball off the top to launch any number of big ball-carriers in their backs, including Aurelien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu. They will make headway, but it is the subsequent ball that’s telling. Almost immediately Parra will search for Zirakashvili or hooker Mario Ledesma. They are powerful men but they remain narrow in attack and, obviously, slow.

Of the top French sides, Clermont are rooted in a tight, formulaic game. With Rougerie at outside centre they had lost a huge amount of French flair. Their counter-attack was surprisingly un-French and laboured, with the ball-carrier looking for contact early. Rougerie’s move back to the wing will make for big improvements.

To counter this power, Leinster have a much more balanced appearance this weekend, with Shane Horgan, Brian O’Driscoll and Kevin McLaughlin returning. The rest will have done O’Driscoll good. McLaughlin, however, has the biggest challenge of the three as he will have to nullify the sledge-hammer, which is a tough ask. So it must be shared with Stephen Keogh (from the bench) and even Nathan Hines.

As the Leinster lineout will put the fear of God into Ledesma, Clermont will throw to the front and look for the rumble.

Hopefully there will be precious few Leinster restarts, but if there are Clermont employ the dummy receiver. The “catcher” is lifted but allows the ball to float through into Ledesma’s hands. Leinster should ignore the dummy and smash Ledesma.

Outhalf Brock James, need we remind ourselves, is an ace with the boot. Suffice to say Jonny Sexton must match him, as every action requires an equal or opposite reaction. The equal reaction is goal-kicking, and the opposite reaction is pace around the park.

Leinster need to move the Clermont sledge-hammer around, varying the point of attack and ultimately exposing the big boys in the closing quarter of the match.

This will be a tough match, but Leinster should win it in the closing minutes as the Clermont baggage of losing may continue to haunt them.

Northampton Saints bring a far greater challenge to Thomond Park tomorrow, and Munster remain vulnerable. The Saints know Munster are beatable: they could have done it in January. Team selection is the first part of the Saints jigsaw, where outhalf Stephen Myler must start over Shane Geraghty. The English international has many talents but game management in the cauldron is not one of them. Ben Foden at fullback returns to Thomond Park, but will he grace the game with his running and counter-attacking? In January he played totally defensively and the Saints lost a major advantage. Myler must start in order to manage Foden into the game.

Playing David Wallace at number eight brings with it huge power off the base, but with Euan Murray at tighthead for the Saints the Munster scrum ball will be disrupted. Horan and Murray locked horns in the Irish Wolfhounds-Scotland A match in February. That battle tomorrow will be worth keeping a close eye on: the outcome will have a big effect on whomever is at eight and his control at the base. Number eight is not just a ball-carrying position, it is also heavy on decision-making.

I was disappointed with Munster failing to attack Leinster’s two-man backrow when Nathan Hines was in the bin. A wise footballing head like Anthony Foley would have done. Opportunity lost last Friday, but must not be wasted tomorrow.

With Paul O’Connell and Keith Earls, I hope, returning, Munster will have regained two massive leaders. One a scoring machine, and the other – a machine.

Munster’s one-point loss was a blow last week, and that is all. The bounce of a ball followed by a cracking touchline conversion sank them. Where Munster fell down was in chasing a win; they became ragged in attack and couldn’t question the Leinster defence. O’Connell should boss them into remembering their quality, and the quality of their support.

Munster continue to have advantages over Northampton players so it will come down to Myler’s ability to influence. Munster win!

Finally, congratulations to two Limerick clubs this week. Bruff for managing to bump up into the big time and Old Crescent for managing to cling on to their second division status thanks mainly to the Buffalo scoring his third try in 167 league appearances.

liamtoland@yahoo.com