Dublin Holds No Fear For Perpignan
The journey to Dublin and a date with the Leinster Lions in Lansdowne Road holds no fears for Perpignan according to their Australian out-half Manny Edmonds.
Perpigan take on Leinster Lions in the Heineken Cup semi-finals at Lansdowne Road on Sunday with Australian international fly half Manny Edmonds declaring that playing and winning away from home is no longer a mental barrier for the French club.
“Lansdowne Road holds no fears for us but we understand what a bonus it is for Leinster to play this game at home,” said Edmonds.
“The biggest thing about our quarter-final was getting over the barrier of winning away. The victory has proven to us that we can do just that.
“Everything now is a bonus for this club. The coach set us two targets at the start of the season – to reach the French championship play-offs and the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. I don’t think we have exceeded those expectations because as a side, we were always confident in our own ability. But what the win over Llanelli has done is take off a bit of pressure.
“I played at Lansdowne Road in 1993 with Australian Schools and one of my opponents was none other than my Perpignan team-mate Phil Murphy.
“Matt Williams coached me with the Waratahs in the seasons of 98 and 99. Unfortunately for him, we didn’t perform in the second of those seasons and he left the set-up. He is a great strategist and, since he has been in Ireland, he has proved himself, taking Leinster to winning the Celtic League title, the Irish title and to the Heineken Cup semi-finals.
“I think our 23-12 defeat on Friday to Stade Francais will make us even more motivated for Sunday. Losing at home can never be a good thing but hopefully we’ll crack some of the errors we made in time for the semi-final.
“It wasn’t our best match on Friday and that has to be down in part to the tough quarter-final at Llanelli. Having said that, we are a professional outfit and we should be able to recuperate in time – we do it every other week.
“It was also one of those nights for my kicking but hopefully I’ve got rid of all the ghosts now and hopefully they won’t reappear – either in the Heineken Cup or the French championship!”