By Duncan Wood
January 16 2003

Phil Christophers kindly spared me some time to chat ahead of the vital Heineken Cup clash with Leinster. We chatted about the Montferrand game last weekend and the task that lies ahead this weekend.

What did you make of the team performance against Montferrand?

I personally didn't see the game as I didn't go over to Montferrand but I heard that it was a fantastic performance in the snow.

Having played against Montferrand for Brive, my old team, I know that it is a very hard place to win. The French play a lot better when they are at home and winning there is fantastic.

When my Dad told me the result over the phone, I was surprised - pleasantly surprised! It was a very positive result for us.

Would you rank that as one of Bristol's best performances since you've been at the club?

Definitely. Montferrand is a great team with a great stadium and pitch and winning there is a great aspiration and result.

You obviously missed out through injury. Were you disappointed to miss out on playing against Aurelien Rougerie?

Of course. I always try to measure myself against the best players and I always like to play in France anyway because of the music and the atmosphere at games - I still miss it.

But I definitely would have liked to play against him because he plays for France and I would have liked to measure myself against him.

How are you looking fitness wise for this weekend?

It's a lot better. I've had a rib injury for the last two weeks and it's getting better.

The last two weeks, I couldn't really run properly because it was too sore but now it seems to be going in the right direction.

The last game against Leinster was Bristol's first game in the Heineken Cup. Do you think everyone was a little unprepared for a game at this level?

I don't think that we were unprepared, I think we just started the wrong way. We let them score a couple of tries but really came back at them in the last 20 minutes and it showed the way that we can play.

Hopefully this weekend we'll be able to play that way for the full 80 minutes. I know the potential the team has so we've just got to realise that potential against Leinster.

What do you remember from the first meeting?

I remember…..rain (laughs)! No, they've got a very balanced team in that they haven't really got a weakness anywhere in their team. They've got great depth in their squad.

You can be assured that you'll be up against good players whatever position you play. We'll just have to be on top of our form.

Leinster have been described as heavyweights in Europe. Do you think Bristol will go into the game as underdogs and will that suit the team?

I think we will be underdogs - they're 5-0 in the competition so far! It probably suits the team actually. I think we rise to the occasion or we have so far certainly. Hopefully we'll be able to do that this weekend, we'll certainly have to be on top of our game.

Why does this team perform so well in adversity?

I don't know! It's very strange isn't it? We show how good we can be and then, in other games, we just make silly mistakes. We've just to show some consistency.

In terms of the conditions for Sunday, are you hoping for a dry, sunny day like today or a mudbath that would suit the Bristol pack?

Personally, I'd like it to be dry so that I get a few touches of the ball!

But I think that we can play in either conditions. We showed against Sale that we can play in wet weather and we've shown in several other games that we can play in dry weather.

We've got balance throughout the team and can play in either conditions. Whatever the conditions, hopefully we'll be prepared for it.

How difficult is it to focus on your match when so many other results have to go in your favour?

It doesn't really do anything because we've got to win. It doesn't change anything, we've got to win the game. If we don't win then we're out. We've just got to focus on our game and then we'll see after the game how the other results have gone.

Finally, any message for the Bristol supporters ahead of Sunday?

We need a big support and hopefully a lot of people will come. We need a great crowd to push us on. Does it really make a big difference when you have a big crowd behind you? It makes a huge difference.

Everything about home advantage makes a massive difference, it can mean 10 points a game. It's a big occasion. Hopefully everybody will come.