Mission Impossible? Almost, but not quite. English sides have been urged to harness the defiance of written-off underdogs as they venture into hostile territory for the most daunting of Champions Cup fixtures.
While Leicester are north of the border for a potentially winnable last 16 showdown with Glasgow, three of their fellow Premiership challengers face even more onerous assignments.
First, Saracens — minus their large England contingent — must confront Toulon in the Stade Felix Mayol, where the Cote d’Azur club have played 10 Top 14 games this season and won the lot.
Next, a crowd of 60,000 is expected at Croke Park to see Leinster take on Harlequins. The capital-city province haven’t lost a knockout game in Dublin since Saracens stunned them there in 2020. They have named a full Test XV, with 13 Ireland players and two pedigree imports; South Africa’s RG Snyman and France prop Rabah Slimani.
Last but not least, Sale have travelled to France to take a shot at title holders Toulouse. The last English visitors were Leicester who were subjected to a savage 80-point mauling in January.
In the last 24 last-16 or quarter-final Champions Cup ties, just two have been won by the away team. But one of those came when Harlequins won a classic in Bordeaux 42-41 last season.
England’s clubs are ready for Mission Impossible in Europe; Saracens, in grey, will face Toulon
Sale Sharks, meanwhile, are preparing to face Champions Cup title holders Toulouse
Harlequins are gearing up for a test against Leinster, who haven’t lost a knockout game in Dublin since 2020
Prop Will Collier played in that epic victory and is now at Castres. Speaking to Mail Sport before his new club take on Benetton, he offered hope to the Premiership sides seeking to upset overwhelming odds this weekend.
Recalling the famous feat with Quins, founded on a thunderous scrum blitz, he said: ‘We went into that game as massive underdogs. We really liked being underdogs and proving everyone wrong. I think that’s the same for a lot of English teams; going away from home with a point to prove and nothing to lose.
‘The phrase we used was “swing the bat”. Billy Millard (director of rugby) was saying that all week while walking around with his cricket bat! But we had the players to back that up, and you can only do that if you have the players to front up in the set-piece which we managed to do.’
According to Collier, the crowd fervour he has become accustomed to in France can be a double-edged sword. More often than not it inspires the home side, but from time to time it can give way to anxiety and tension if the visitors start well.
‘The first 20 minutes will make the difference for these English teams,’ said the tighthead. ‘If they can counter the first scrum, the first maul and get some momentum, then change the feeling among the home crowd, that’s what will make the difference.
‘When the French fans go quiet, it really affects their team. In their home territory, suddenly their fans are not quite as behind them as they thought. That creates a momentum shift, so you’ve got to silence them somehow.
‘The expectation on the home teams will be huge. It is written already that they (Toulon and Toulouse) are going to win. That complacency can play a part, which it did for Bordeaux last year, because we’d changed the team and didn’t have Danny Care or Marler playing. Bordeaux just thought, “Oh right, we’re in for an easy one”.’
Billy Vunipola is now at Montpellier and the former England No 8 echoed Collier’s view that the sense of expectation among French crowds can be turned against their team.
Former Harlequins star Will Collier, now of Castres, says turning the crowd in the first 20 minutes in France is crucial
He reveals Billy Millard’s phrase ‘swing the bat’ helped – but you need to have the players to front up in the set-piece
Billy Vunipola of Montpellier also says you can use the French fans’ expectations against them
‘The best French teams are just expected to run away with games,’ he says. ‘Come back into it and mistakes creep in’
‘When we’ve gone away to teams this season with Montpellier, there’s an expectation we’re just going to roll over,’ he said. ‘There is an expectation from the fans too that there’s going to be a big score and that’s weighed heavily in our favour, away from home.
‘The longer the game goes and the longer we’re in it, the more demanding the crowd are of the home team. The best French teams are just expected to run away with games after they’ve scored two or three tries, but then the other team come back into it and that expectation comes in, mistakes creep in and that’s when there’s an opportunity for the away team.’
Vunipola was a stalwart of the Saracens pack in their glory years of title success in domestic and European rugby. He is adamant that, despite being without Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, Jamie George, Elliot Daly and Tom Willis, his former club can trouble Toulon.
‘The French teams are very good at home but they do look at the teams they are about to play and kind of act accordingly,’ he said. ‘If they think they can win at a canter they will try to do that, so there is an opportunity there.
‘We saw that in a big game last year, when Quins went to Bordeaux. They made it to a semi by beating a Bordeaux team who had put 60 points on us twice. Everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that Bordeaux were going to win and there are a lot of similarities this weekend.’
For Harlequins, Leinster are an altogether different proposition. There is no way the Irish hosts will take their opponents lightly. They will be meticulous, rested and ready. Collier believes Quins have to trust in the creative brilliance of Marcus Smith at 10 and adopt the same mindset which served them so well in Bordeaux last season.
‘I don’t know if swinging the bat is going to work against Leinster, but it is the only hope,’ he said. ‘Drawing Leinster into a match like that would suit Quins. It is probably the only way to counter a team like Leinster, especially because that is not in their DNA.
‘You’re not going to out-tactic Leinster. They are so well-drilled and have been together for a decade — many of those players now.
The French teams can assume they’re going to win at a canter, which can play into your hands
Saracens will not have key stars such as England captain Maro Itoje but can still trouble Toulon
Harlequins pulled off a shock 42-41 win at Bordeaux last year (Marcus Smith celebrates)
‘You need to have some big, big momentum changes and game-breakers; players who can shift that momentum. It will need Marcus slipping tackles, one of the wingers making a break or a big scrum or maul. It is going to take something exceptional to break Leinster down.’
Something exceptional was exactly what Saracens produced to win in Dublin in 2020. Big Billy was on duty that day and recalled how the visitors shocked the favourites to claim a 25-17 win.
‘We weren’t as good as we were the year before,’ he said, ‘but we had a siege mentality because everyone was writing us off. We’d lost to them in 2018 and that was still a big motivating factor.
‘They beat us quite convincingly in the quarter-finals that year. I still remember how annoying it was to see James Lowe celebrating when he scored.’
