Corry and Jones on great rivalry
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:52
After five meetings in three years this Sunday’s clash between the Leicester Tigers and the Ospreys seems set to add yet another chapter to the growing rivalry between the two big European sides.
With the legacy of European competitions continuing to be formed the traditional matchups are only now starting to take shape and, according to Martin Corry and Ryan Jones, few can match the Tigers and Ospreys contest.
Leicester captain Corry: "The great thing with the Heineken Cup is it's been going 14 years now and you start to build up rivalries and great histories
"One we've got with Ryan and the Ospreys. We know each other's games and we've got a huge amount of respect for them.
"They seem to be improving year on year, we're trying to improve from last year. It should be a great encounter."
The Tigers won the first three of the pairs' fixtures but now, after two Welsh club wins, Jones and his men are proving to be more than a match for their English rivals, particularly given their 23-6 EDF Energy Cup final win last year.
"It is a fantastic rivalry. We're getting to know each other really well and it's become a bit of a romantic fixture for us,” said Wales captain Jones.
"We had a friendly a few months ago - or not so friendly.
"It's great and it's by games like that you measure just how good you are as it's the pinnacle of club rugby."
Jones admitted that his side were hugely disappointed to have only made it to the quarterfinals of the Heineken Cup last season and says his side are keen to prove they are a real force in the European game.
"We were bitterly disappointed last year that we didn't go further on the basis of what was a very successful year for us.
"We finally broke the back of getting out of the group stages and I think we learned a big lesson there.
"If you look at the heavyweights in Europe, the likes of Martin and Leicester, Wasps and Munster, they've been at the business end of the tournament year on year.
"They've both won and lost some pretty big encounters but they're teams that have learned from them."
