Heineken Cup draw excites Saints
Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:31
Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder says that a Heineken Cup semi-final against either the Ospreys or Biarritz would be a massive incentive for his team to perform well against Munster in April's quarter final.
But he also warned of the perils of looking too far ahead.
Having narrowly lost at Thomond Park last Friday night, the Saints head back to Limerick on the weekend of 9/10/11 April. And with the Heineken Cup semi-final draw already having taken place both teams know that they will play either the Ospreys or Biarritz away from home.
"The Heineken Cup is the toughest competition in club rugby and when you get to the knock-out stages every game is a difficult one," Mallinder said on Monday.
"Either Biarritz or the Ospreys would be very difficult opponents for us in what would be a tremendous occasion. It is a great incentive, but there is no point in looking past Munster for the time being, especially because we have first hand experience of playing at Thomond Park and how tough it can be.
"Nevertheless we were satisfied with how we competed on Friday night, especially in the set piece, at the breakdown and in defence. It is an indication of how far we have come in the past two years that we were disappointed we didn't win at a stadium where Munster have lost just once in European competition. The quarter final seeding means that we will have a chance to have another go at Munster in a few weeks, which will be another massive game.
"But we have a lot of rugby to play before we can start thinking about the next stages of the Heineken Cup. There are a few rounds of the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Premiership to be played, not to mention the Six Nations, in which both ourselves and Munster will have a lot of players representing their countries.
"So while the Heineken Cup quarter final is something for everyone at the club to look forward to, as a group of players and coaches we cannot get ourselves too carried away. We have got to this position by taking every game as it comes and we have to keep doing this."
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