Planet Rugby

Leinster keen to bounce back

13th December 2012 10:28

Morgan Parra C Clermont Auvergne vs Leinster

Two giants: Leinster and Clermont

Leinster take on Clermont at the Aviva Stadium looking to pick up a "vital" Heineken Cup win that would keep them in the hunt for topping Pool 5.

Clermont ended the Irish province's 17-match unbeaten run in the competition last weekend in a gripping 15-12 success at Stade Marcel Michelin.

The Top 14 outfit's victory - their 51st successive home win - put them five points clear of the Irish ahead of the return fixture in Dublin.

Leinster manager Guy Easterby said a win for his side was "vital", but added: "I don't think the result on Saturday is going to determine who's top of the group or who goes through from the group.

"We just see it as a game we have to go out and win," the former Ireland scrum-half said, with one eye on the two other clubs in the pool, Exeter and winless Scarlets.

"It's not all about topping the group. There are opportunities further down the line. Plus the fact that there are two more games, it's not like the pool finishes on Saturday evening.

"We've got a couple of tough fixtures left, as have Clermont, and our group is particularly competitive.

"With the three games we've got left, we've got two at home and one away and we'll just be looking to do our best in all of those."

Easterby added: "To be so close over there and not get over the line was very disappointing."

Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra, who contributed four penalties from four attempts last weekend, said his team could not repeat their showing against Leinster in the competition in 2010, having also been beaten in last season's semi-final in Bordeaux.

"We've already had the chance to play this double-header, and after conceding a defensive bonus point at home, we went to Dublin with good intentions before exploding," he said of the 24-8 victory by the Irish side," he said.

"We don't want to relive that experience. We'll need to show that we've made some progress."

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