Meehan stresses defense

Clermont are currently third in the French Top 14 standings and, according to Meehan, have very few weaknesses.

The French outfit will also be going into the game at the Twickenham Stoop on a high after their 70-6 thrashing of Albi in a league game last weekend.

"They are a pretty physical side with a good half-back pairing to drive their forward pack," Meehan said on the club's website.

"They have a good kicking game through their fly half Brock James, their centres are very experienced and their back three are very good at counter-attacking.

"They have threats right across the field so offensively it will be very important for us to disturb as much of their ball as we can and with any ball that they do win, it is important that we play as well defensively as we can."

Nor does Meehan think Clermont will struggle playing away from home, an accusation often directed at French clubs.

"I think that is a bit of a myth now; the European competitions have allowed French teams to travel quite a lot in recent years," added the Australian.

"Their reputation of not winning away from home stems from the French competition. One of the reasons is that the huge passion they show in defending their own territory often influences the outcome of matches."

Meehan also confirmed that he had no major injury concerns following the club's 65-0 win in a warm-up match over League One outfit Newbury.

"Everyone recovered well from the Newbury game and there are no real concerns in terms of injuries," Meehan said.

"You can do a number of things leading up to a final like this one - you can play 15 on 15 in training, but to have the referee there in a game situation is very important and the Newbury game was very good for us in those terms."