Heineken Cup Preview - Clermont Auvergne v Montpellier

It hasn't been the happiest couple of months for French rugby.  Billed as pre-tournament favourites prior to the start of the Six Nations, Les Bleus slumped to defeat after depressing defeat, earning themselves the wooden spoon and only saving face with an unconvincing win in their final fixture against Scotland.  They weren't helped, of course, by Philippe Saint Andre displaying all the rugby nous of a hollow watermelon when it came to team selection, but it was still so difficult to see how a side so stuffed-full of talent could perform so badly.  And what makes it all the more mystifying is the fact that, arguably, the French club sides are the strongest they've been for years.

Clermont seem to have been the best-team-never-to-win-the-European-Cup for the last 3 years, with some serious talent and experience dotted around their team.  Sitting comfortably in second spot, the French champions of 2010 seem to have a knack of utterly dominating teams without looking like they are even trying.  After a dominant group stage, where they ended with 6 wins from 6 (4 of them very comfortable), they are the resounding favourites to go through to the semi-finals with their brand of "total rugby", executed by forward-led brutality and rapier-sharp back play.  However, Clermont haven't won the French title since 2010 and have never even made the final of the Heineken Cup – underneath that flash, confident exterior, there must be a genuine concern that the French giants struggle to produce the goods where necessary.

Montpellier, meanwhile, are the relative 'new boys' when it comes to the French elite in the domestic leagues, setting the League alight in the 2010/11 season before falling at the last hurdle in the playoff final against Toulouse.  They're sitting comfortably in the playoff spots at the moment, but haven't managed to find any consistency and, with this being just their second European campaign, they are pretty wet behind the ears when it comes to Heineken Cup pedigree.  That said, they have a powerful pack that loves confrontation and a smart fly half in Francois Trinh Duc who can cause any side a headache on his day, as well as fair amount of fleet-footedness in the backline, with Lucas Amorosino in particular capable of unlocking even the stingiest of defences.  They may be underdogs, but you can bet Montpellier won't be leaving anything on the field on Saturday.

The national side may not be at the heart of the country's pride at the moment, but these 2 clubs have plenty of Gallic flair and honour to unleash at Stade Marcel Michelin.  Clermont may be favourites but, then again, the French haven't exactly been sticking to the script lately, have they?

Clermont Auvergne Team News

Clermont will be without their points-machine Brock James, who is ruled out with a torn thigh muscle, so Ludovic Radosavljevic will deputise, with former France fly-half David Skrela on the bench.

Starting Line up:  Lee Byrne; Sitiveni Sivivatu, Aurelien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Napolioni Nalaga; Ludovic Radosavljevic, Morgan Parra; Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili; Jamie Cudmore, Nathan Hines; Gerhard Vosloo, Julien Bardy, Julien Bonnaire.

Subs:  Ti'l Paulo, Vincent Debaty, Daniel Kotze, Julien Pierre, Alexandre Lapandry, David Skrela, Regan King, Jean-Marcellin Buttin.

Key Player

Wesley Fofana.  Arguably the most gifted runner in Europe, the French centre has a Houdini-like ability to wriggle through gaps that simply aren't there.  He's Clermont's chief attacking weapon with a nose for an opportunity and the pace and footwork to exploit it – the fact he was shunted out to the wing for his country was just another sign of Philippe Saint-Andre losing his marbles.  How often Clermont can get the ball into his hands may play a big part in the outcome of the game.

Montpellier Team News

Scotland's back-row Johnnie Beattie looked to be returning to his best form towards the end of the Six Nations campaign, but he will only make an appearance from the bench as Alex Tulou is preferred.

Starting Line up: Lucas Amorosino; Timoci Nagusa, Thomas Combezou, Santiago Fernandez, Yohann Artru; Francois Trinh-Duc, Benoit Paillaugue; Yvan Watremez, Agustin Creevy, Maximiliano Bustos, Mamuka Gorgodze, Thibaut Privat, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Alexandre Bias, Alex Tulou.

Subs: Rassie van Vuuren, Nahuel Lobo, Barry Fa'amausili, Mickael Demarco, Johnnie Beattie, Eric Escande, Paul Bosch, Pierre Berard.

Key Player

Francois Trinh-Duc.  With the way Clermont are playing, there's every chance that the visitors may end up starved of possession – and so it is critically important that Trinh-Duc makes the most of whatever he gets.   Montpellier will be looking to their fly half to pin the hosts back whenever possible and silence the home crowd and, if any gaps do present themselves, pull the trigger quickly and effectively.

Key Battle

Jamie Cudmore v Mamuka Gorgodze.  Think physical – like two very angry rhinos crashing into each other – and double it, and that's probably about the level of intensity you can expect when these two collide on Saturday.  Of the two, Gorgodze is the more natural ball carrier, acting like a 1-man-pack at times, requiring at least 3 men to being the huge Georgian down – there's a reason that he's nicknamed Gorgodzilla.  Cudmore, though, has never been one to fringe away from confrontation, and he'll be relishing his job on Saturday to put down Montpellier's danger men before he can get the visitors onto the front foot.

Prediction

Montpellier are a thoroughly capable outfit but they would have to really pull the cat out of the bag to turnover Clermont at their fortress, the Stade Marcel Michelin.  The hosts looked so good in their group games and the worrying thing is that they still looked like they were coasting – and they've been in explosive form in the Top 14 too.  I can't see anything but a comfortable Clermont victory in this one.  Clermont by 12.