Chelsea vs Liverpool. Carabao Cup Semi-Final.
Stamford BridgeAttendance40,659.
Tuesday 13 March 2018 15:51, UK
The boys were disappointed with the result against Saracens – we felt that we executed most of the game-plan, but we left a couple of chances out on the field and felt that we should have got a bit more out of the game.
But that is rugby and it was very close – credit to Sarries, who took their tries when they had their opportunities. On the whole the coaches were pretty happy with it but the boys played well enough to win the game.
I have not played on one of those new artificial pitches that Saracens have; there were mixed reviews about it from the lads. A few of the backs said they were a bit stiffer than normal after the game – whether that was due to pitch or the fact that the standard and intensity was higher remains to be seen.
Now our eyes turn to a big game against Sale who played very well against Munster – they were just pipped at the post. Watching the game this week they looked very dangerous in the first half and we are going to have to be defensively very sound against them.
Our game-plan won’t change much; because it’s a home game there will probably be a bit more pressure on us to play more rugby than we did away to Saracens. We will be comfortable at home and we are all looking forward to that big game atmosphere that the Stade Marcel-Michelin always provides.
Obviously last week I was very disappointed not to get the call to play against Saracens. I know I had not been playing to the standard I want to be playing at. It has really put pressure on me to perform and I am looking forward to the challenge.
One of the reasons why I came to Clermont was because I wanted to be put under this type of pressure; I wanted to be challenged by coaches and by my teammates to become the best player I can be, so I am really looking forward to showing them what I can do against Sale on Sunday.
Off the field, Jamie Cudmore has been working us really hard. He has a new wine coming out so he enlisted us all to move the boxes for him – what he says goes, so we all had to get stuck in.
He did treat us to lunch, though, so fair play to him. He didn’t crack open any wine - apparently it has to sit for a while but hopefully we will get to taste it soon!
