 Lievremont's brother Marc is the French national coach |
Dax coach Thomas Lievremont has warned London Irish that his team will not be taking their European Challenge Cup matches lightly. Defeats to Connacht and Rovigo mean Dax's chances of qualification from the pool are all but over. But the former French international said his side will provide the Exiles with stern opposition. "We are now playing for pride and we have no intention of letting these games go easily," said Lievremont. Dax's defeats at home to Connacht and away at Rovigo may suggest the French team will struggle against London Irish, but Lievremont said his side's situation has changed since those earlier rounds.  | London Irish have a great deal of individual talent - and they have a very dangerous back line, which they showed in their semi-final against Toulouse last season |
"We had a fine 13-6 win at Toulon over the weekend and that took us up to ninth place in the Top 14, which means our outlook going into this match is a little bit different to those at the beginning of the season," said the former number eight. "Then we were struggling in the league and obviously relegation was a big concern for us, but now that we are up to ninth the pressure has eased a little and we are a bit more relaxed. "However, we lost our first two tournament games and now we are going into the back-to-back games against the team which I would say is definitely the strongest in the pool with the greatest chance of qualification. "They are going to be really tough opposition and they are real title contenders this season in this tournament."
 Lievremont won 35 caps for France - the last in 2006 |
Lievremont added that he was looking forward to pitting his wits against an old adversary, Mike Catt. "I remember Catt from our first meeting at Stade de France way back in 1998," he said. "I'm not at all surprised that he has gone into coaching as he was always a great strategist with a strong understanding of the game. "I have a lot of admiration for him as a player and now I'll get to meet him as a coach." *Dax versus London Irish kicks off at 1800 GMT on Friday, 5 December, and is live on BBC Radio Berkshire
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