We’ll stick to our attacking style - Kiss
LONDON Irish will not abandon their attack from anywhere approach when they face Toulon in the European Challenge Cup quarter-final in front of the French club’s vocal supporters today.
Toulon may no longer have the roster of galacticos that took them to the top of Europe in the 2010s, but their multi-national pack includes South African second row Eben Etzebeth, the Argentina No.8 Facundo Isa, Scotland’s back rower Cornell du Preez and the former England prop Kieran Brookes.
“They are a genuine powerhouse,” said Less Kiss, Irish’s head coach. “Their form in the last seven weeks has been unbelievable. They have a big pack but they also have strengths across the park. It will be a big test for us. They are very comfortable in their home stadium and it is inspiring to play there.
“We will be true to what we do well. We have to understand it is a big occasion and tap into the good parts of it. We have enough maturity to weather their storm.
“We know what we have in terms of how we can play and we have to stick to our guns. They will have a purple patch and it is vital we keep hold of what we are good at.”
Irish have experience of Stade Mayol having played there in the Challenge Cup at the end of 2019. Only three of the 23 involved that day will feature this afternoon but the coaching team has taken a lot from that match.
“We were in the fight for a while but they took the game away from us,” said Kiss. “We played some nice footy but they eventually overpowered us. It will help that we have been there before and it is all about dealing with the dangers Toulon pose.
“I have watched their last five matches. They are hungry and confident. They base everything on their strong forward pack and we have to meet that
challenge, not shrink from it. If we get parity up front it will allow us to play our game. We have not been in a final for a while and it is about taking a step forward.”
Toulon’s run of five straight Top 14 victories has taken them from the edge of the relegation zone to challenging for a play-off place. French teams have in the past put the league before the Challenge Cup, but Kiss is not expecting Toulon to tread lightly.
“They will go hard because it is a home game,” he said. “They have done massively well and they are back in a mode of rugby they love. They are in a good place where they can attack both competitions and a home quarter-final was too juicy for them not to pick their big players.”
Irish have opted for experience in one of their most demanding assignments of the season – Agustin Creevy, making his 50th appearance for Irish, Ben White, Facundo Gigena, Adam Coleman, Martin Gonzalez and Albert Tuisue coming in as the Exiles make six changes to the team that fought back to draw 42-42 against Wasps last Sunday.
But it means their bench is laced with young players who have made a big impact this season, Will Goodrick-Clarke, Tom Pearson, Will Joseph and Henry Arundell. If they are still, in it going into the final quarter, they have the means to up the pace.
“We do not mind playing French teams because our possession game can push them into a space they are not used to because they like to use the set-pieces to slow the pace down. We have to make our style a strength there.
“We have given a number of young players a chance and what is pleasing is that they have not played conservatively. We give them the bandwidth to back themselves: that is how we do things. Trying to be error free will get you nowhere. We want our guys to find out how good they can be.”