Nathan Hines on resuming the battle with O’Connell

AS THE season heads towards the serious business of big European clashes and British and Irish Lions squad announcements, there is more than enough cause for solemnity.

Clermont Auvergne lock Nathan Hines is looking forward to another bruising battle today. Picture: Getty

There is too much at stake to waste time with smiles and jokes. That is, of course, unless you are amiable brute Nathan Hines, heading for a date with old adversary Paul O’Connell in today’s Heineken Cup semi-final.

“When I was opposite him during the Magners League final [2011] I didn’t even notice he was playing,” the Clermont Auvergne second-row smiles, talking with more than a dollop of sarcasm about Munster’s finest.

It is certainly an interesting time for the pair. O’Connell has enjoyed a resurgent run, leading his unfancied province past Harlequins in the Heineken quarter-finals with all the vim of a lustful teenager with a free house. The other has merely continued as he always has, bounding forcefully towards a European and domestic double.

Having been skippered by the Irishman during the Lions tour in 2009, however, Hines understands the impact his storied opponent can have on a game as well as the attention he commands. “I watched Munster’s game against Quins and O’Connell only seemed to take one ball in the lineout and the rest were steals,” Hines says of his homework on the lock. “But like Richie Gray with his blonde hair, you notice him. He hasn’t been there for a lot of months and he can’t make everything work for his team.

“He can make a little difference, though, and he has a positive effect. When he is there the team has less doubt.”

There is a sense that a team that fell at this stage last year – with Clermont collapsing against eventual Heineken winners Leinster – may need to allay some fears. After all, the Vulcans of the mountainous Clermont-Ferrand region have a history of stumbling to get to a point, having been runners-up in the Top 14 three years in a row before eventually winning the title for the first time against Perpignan in 2010.

For a man who has been around the block several times, however, there is no need to worry about the pressure. “I don’t think we will get caught cold,” he says with a chuckle that clips his statement, despite its brevity.

“Intensity is what Munster bring and they are not a flash team, but when they get over the halfway, their set-piece starts working. We know that and we don’t take anything for granted. It is not a natural progression, beating them, just because we were semi-finalists last year.

“Games can turn on little moments. When Wes [Fofana] failed to get the ball down for a try last year against Leinster and then they broke after half time we were beaten. Did we knock off mentally? No, but they broke down areas we normally wouldn’t be broken and they scored. You can not leave any stone unturned.”

Rugby in France is almost otherworldly in the eyes of the British punter. Clubrooms around the country echo with complaints about the money being spent on superstar internationals. The teams play by different rules, it seems, and things can only get worse with the news that the Top 14 salary cap is to be raised by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) by around €500,000 per season.

According to Hines, this matters little to an ambitious squad. For aching veterans and sprightly tyros alike, everyone has to take their knocks in training. Miss a session and you will jokingly be asked if you “are on holiday.” Miss any more and, unless your leg is hanging off, a senior player will have a word.

Maybe this is to be expected. The club have money and they are ambitious. The community is ambitious. In talking about the camaraderie, the 77-cap Scot evokes the words of Andy Robinson, stating: “When the bombs are going off you have to be able to look to the guy beside you.”

Hines, too, is full of excitable expectation in talking about his team-mates. He is only thinking of that next triumph, despite his 36 years and the previous Top 14 title with Perpignan in 2009 or the European victory with Leinster in 2010. Perhaps it is because the moments are so fleeting, however sweet they are.

“I only remember the mistakes I make. When we won that Heineken final, I do not really remember the try I scored – the only one in my two years there – but the things I did wrong stick with me. The rest is a bit of a blur.

“Any advice from me for my team-mates would be futile. A big game is a bit like cramming for an exam. Just don’t fill your head with clutter.”

After winning seven from seven in the Heineken, Clermont’s cramming is all but over. Nevertheless, after the studying and experiences, Hines knows there is an O’Connell-shaped bit of clutter still to worry about.