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'Everyone thinks the French teams don't care about Europe, but we do'
Montpellier No.8 Zach Mercer says his side will savour their 40-26 win over Harlequins in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie Heineken Champions Cup.
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The English champions were in deep trouble when they found themselves trailing 34-0 eight minutes into the second half having conceded five tries.
But a four-try fightback eventually reduced the deficit to 14 points heading into the return match at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.
Former England number eight Mercer was named as the star of the match for his two-try contribution.
He cannot wait to get back onto English soil next weekend and give another reminder to national team head coach Eddie Jones of his all-round skills.
“It is always good to play against some familiar faces in a different competition. Everyone thinks the French teams don’t care about Europe, but we do and we proved that today,” said Mercer.
“Everyone wrote us off after the Leinster result. We will enjoy this win, but we’ve got to go away next week and we know we’ve got a big challenge ahead of us.
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“It was frustrating watching the end of the game, but Harlequins have got a reputation and they came back and scored some points.
“We’ll just have to do the same next week and try to score 34 points in the first half.
“We’ve got a lot to improve on, but we’ll certainly take scoring 40 points against the English champions.”
Former Northampton and South Africa scrum-half Cobus Reinach was among the first-half try-scorers for Montpellier and he wants his team to be more ruthless in London on Saturday.
“We certainly haven’t done enough. We gave ourselves a good cushion until half-time but then we went away from our game plan, out of our shape and out of our DNA and that cost us in the end,” he said.
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“The talking point of the week for us will be how we went 34 points up and then allowed them to come back. We had our foot on the throat and we should have kept it there.
“We needed to keep suffocating them, but we didn’t. We let go at the end, but we will fix it.”
Meanwhile, Harlequins head coach Tabai Matson insists his side still believe they can advance to the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Matson said: “We were well off the pace in the first half. We had enough ball and opportunities, but they really punished us.
“After half-time it was really all about getting some points on the board.
“To be down 14-0 at home in the second leg is probably not a bad result on the back of where we were.
“I’m trying to be optimistic, but we are only half-way and there is absolutely a belief that we can pull a rabbit out of the hat next week.
“Their defence was exceptional, but we missed opportunities to kick and put some more variation into our game. Even at the end of the game our breakdown was well off the pace.
“Those things will be a massive focus this week in particular. If that’s the case, hopefully we can put them under more pressure.
“When the game opened up we found some opportunities. They don’t let you open up so that will be our challenge.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
1 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
21 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
21 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments