European Cup news:Leinster and Munster renew acquaintances with their French foes in the Heineken European Cup this weekend and in keeping with the toughness of their respective draws, it comes as no surprise that Toulouse and Clermont Auvergne have underlined their status as the leading two sides in France's Top 14.
Like all French sides, the two pacesetters return to European action refreshed after a two-week break over the festive period. Clermont followed up their 21-17 win at home to Toulouse prior to Christmas with a 26-6 win against bottom-placed Auch on Saturday which briefly put them above Toulouse in the Top 14.
This was their sixth win out of six this season at the Parc des Sports Michelin, to add to their 18-match 100 per cent home record in reaching the French Championship final and winning the European Challenge Cup last season.
Under a change of rules in the Top 14 this season, Clermont picked up a try-scoring bonus point by scoring three tries more than Auch on Saturday, two of them by dint of expertly weighted cross kicks by Australian outhalf Brock James to Julien Bonnaire and Aurelien Rougerie respectively.
They were without the injured World Cup-winning captain John Smit, who will also miss Sunday's crunch Pool Five game at home to Munster, after sustaining a knee injury in training last week. Even so, in another imposing demonstration of their strength, Kiwi coach Vern Cotter was able to rest Elvis Vermeulen, flanker Alexandre Audebert, scrumhalf Pierre Mignoni, winger Julien Malzieu (tipped to break into the French team in the forthcoming Six Nations), Springbok centre Marius Joubert and fullback Anthony Floch.
The coveted Bouclier du Brennus may remain Clermont's primary target after a heartbreaking eighth losing final last season but Cotter maintains qualification for the European Cup quarter-finals is now their sole focus.
"Earlier in the season there was a lot of talk about Clermont doing their best but not looking at qualification. Although this may have been the view from outside the club, we always believed we deserved to be here and were capable of qualifying for the knock-out stages - even in this tough pool," says Cotter.
"This is a pretty simple situation. There are three teams - Wasps, Munster and ourselves - who are looking to qualify from this pool and it's going to come down to the last two matches. We know if we can beat Munster, we have to take the game to Llanelli and we are looking at qualification."
"These are going to be two massive games for all three teams and no one is going to give anything away. If Munster can upset us at home this weekend, then they are in a very strong position for the home match against Wasps. They are a strong side and export their game very well - they have quality players all over the park and, on their day, are capable of beating anyone but we are confident and ready for this match," he added.
"The team we fielded at Thomond Park was looked at as a second-string team but was part of our longer-term game plan to have a large in-form squad to sustain us through a very long season. We are hoping to reap the benefits of this preparation through the second half of the season - starting with the match against Munster."
One player Cotter will have to plan without is flanker Jamie Cudmore who was yesterday banned for four weeks for punching Wasps prop Tim Payne at Adams Park in the round four.
Toulouse regained the top spot domestically in Sunday night's prime time televised game at home to Jeremy Davidson's Castres, recovering from a 20-13 half-time deficit to run in four unanswered tries in the second half (including a hat-trick from that regular thorn in Irish rugby, Vincent Clerc) to earn a bonus point in a stunning 44-23 win.
Despite losing Yannick Jauzion with a broken hand in Friday's training run, which will rule him out of Saturday's visit to Leinster along with Patricio Albacete, Toulouse adapted by switching Clement Poitrenaud to centre alongside Florian Fritz - who had a big game - with Cedric Heymans having a starring, try-scoring role at fullback.
Valentin Courrent, who has nailed down the outhalf jersey impressively, was the other try scorer, the game having turned with the early second half introduction of Thierry Dusautoir and Gregory Lamboley for Finau Maka and Julien Ledevedec.
Byron Kelleher then made a telling impact in the last quarter and looks likely to start at the RDS, where the rested Yannick Nyanga and Fijian centre Maleli Kunaore are likely to come back into the reckoning.
"We want to finish at the top of the table," says Kelleher, reflecting the club's desire for a lucrative fifth home quarter-final in six years. "I know that after the back-to-back matches Leinster are going to have a really tough job to qualify, but we are under no illusions."
"They are a tough team and they like to play our style of rugby. They are going to be a big challenge and they will want to beat us at home. Toulouse like to throw the ball around and it's great for me coming from the All Blacks to this set-up but Leinster are capable of beating us at our own game and we need to stay very level-headed for this match.
"We are trying to build our confidence within the squad and this game means much more than simply getting the points in the bag," added Kelleher. "It is a big deal for a French team to pick up points away from home and the impact of getting the bonus point at Welford Road, despite the conditions, gave us a real boost."
"We learned some lessons that day and took them into the return leg. We decided to get up in their faces a lot more than we would normally do and it paid off," said Kelleher, who embraces Guy Noves rotational selection policy. "We are trying new things and looking far more at changing our game plan totally in order to meet the opposition's strengths."
