Ospreys ready to storm Clermont fortress

The Welsh side travel to France on the back of opening their European Champions Cup Pool Five campaign with victory over Exeter in Swansea.

But they face a daunting task against a Clermont side who have not lost a European match at their home fortress since 2008.

In addition, the Ospreys have won just once in 14 trips across the Channel in European competition, but Gibbes believes his players have the character to handle the pressure of taking on a star-studded Clermont side in their own back yard.

"I back our players to handle the atmosphere out there," said the New Zealander.

"The key thing is if you look through the spine of our team, we have guys who have played in bigger venues than the one they will encounter on Sunday and under more pressure.

"We are going to be relying on those guys, guys like Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric and those type of players, to lead us through.

"But it's something we are not fearing. We are excited. These are the games you want to be involved in. The boys will be really excited and they'll use that."

Gibbes also acknowledged if the Ospreys are to end their poor run on French soil, it will begin with a big effort up front against a Clermont pack including the likes of Vincent Debaty, Jamie Cudmore, Fitz Lee and Damien Chouly.

"They're big and quite dynamic as well in the pack. Even their front row guys can get around. They can catch, they pass, they can carry, they can tackle," said Gibbes.

"They're a big team and they like to play. We know they have experience of playing in big games, in quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals, so they know how to win these types of games.

"They'll be relying heavily on their forwards and they'll try to get their backs across the gain-line and pressure us a lot by putting us into corners and looking to live off our mistakes.

"We know that's how they are going to go. We just have to make sure we are accurate and don't give them opportunities. But we look at our pack and we think we can match that."

Source: @ChampionsCup