‘Connacht better be up for a battle’
STADE FRANCAIS backs coach Mike Prendergast has warned Connacht not to underestimate Bordeaux-Begles when they open their Challenge Cup campaign at The Sportsground. With a lot of teams not taking the competition seriously — Perpignan and Sale Sharks have selected second string sides for the opening game this evening in France — this is a competition Connacht can have a crack off. But Prendergast said that Bordeaux-Begles could target this competition and will be up for a battle in the opening round. ‘They are a good side, especially in defence under Joe Worsley. Baptiste Serin is their key guy, the French scrum-half. Everything revolves around him. They have had a lot of injuries and that has hampered them a bit. ‘They lost Matthieu Jalibert, the French out-half, earlier in the season and Brock James, who was going in as a coach has now had to play. ‘A lot will depend, of course, on who they have available for the trip to Galway but they have the squad to compete in Europe and in the Top 14. ‘They might not be a threat later in the competition if it’s not going well for them but they will have a crack at the start and that will make them dangerous,’ said Prendergast. His Stade Francais side beat Bordeaux-Begles 20-8 and with Paul O’Connell on board in charge of lineout and breakdown, they are currently second in the table with five wins from seven. Poor form last year saw Stade Francais miss out on Champions Cup qualification and this weekend they are also in Challenge Cup action, hosting Worcester Warriors at Stade Jean Bouin. ‘Paul and I have settled in well with Stade. It’s great to have Paul alongside. There is good, experienced staff around the place. We made a good start. ‘We were very disappointed to lose to Racing the other week. It was a typical French derby and I have found that over here, the derby games are never classics, but then it was good to bounce back and win away to the champions Castres,” added the former Munster scrum-half.