BEATTIE'S MEN READY TO STORM FORTRESS

It's not a question that appears to be on the lips of friends from back home in Scotland who have been queuing up to drop in on the 27-year-old No.8 and his fiancee Jen at their new gaff in the south of France. "It's a good spot," he says wryly. "I think that might be why people like coming to visit.

"We are two weeks into what will be a two-and-a-half-month block of a steady stream of people coming to see us. There will be two or three different bunches of folk staying at our house at the same time. It will be congested but good fun."

Today, though, Beattie's hospitality skills will be put on the back burner as he and his Montpellier mates travel north to take on Clermont Auvergne, Nathan Hines included, in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. The former Glasgow player was named among the substitutes yesterday but can expect to be called upon to make an impact from the bench.

In many eyes, Clermont are the European champions in waiting and their astonishing record of 58 consecutive home wins at the Stade Marcel Michelin does not exactly suggest Montpellier are about to alter that status.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Montpellier have made a name for themselves as a team with a talent for causing upsets. Having all but rebuilt their side last summer, little was expected of them in this season's Heineken competition, but a favourable draw and a series of superb performances propelled them into the last eight.

As Beattie admits, they surprised even themselves along the way. "In the early part of the group stage we played a pretty mixed side and didn't always have our top 15 players out," he said. "Generally, the focus at that time was probably more on the Top 14 [France's domestic championship] and safeguarding our place in the top six there.

"In France, getting into the Top 14 play-offs is the aim of every club. They tend look at the Heineken Cup as a bonus. But now we are in the quarter-finals we are definitely much more serious about Europe. Now, anything can happen and we have to approach it that way. We want to give Clermont a shock because they haven't lost there for ages."

Clermont's record is not so surprising when you consider the galaxy of stars they have at their disposal. Wesley Fofana, Morgan Parra, Aurelien Rougerie and Tomas Domingo are just some of the names on the books of the side that currently sit second only to Toulon in the French league. However, Clermont's success at home also owes something to that particularly French mindset, where teams simply don't expect to win away.

"I think it is something that is just ingrained over here," Beattie says. "It was never a factor in Scotland; you just went out to try to win every game. Here, there is a massive emphasis on winning your home games and anything beyond that is a bonus. They do look at it very differently but I have always enjoyed playing on the road, in different environments, different stadiums, in front of different people. I think it keeps you fresh. I like that challenge but in general terms it is still true that teams don't have a high level of expectation away from home."

Worldly and intelligent, Beattie is one of those players who was always likely to thrive in the French environment. Towards the end of his time at Glasgow, he cut a disconsolate figure, a shadow of the player and personality he had been when his precocious abilities had first become apparent the move to France has revived his form and his wider appetite for the game.

"It has been good to see different parts of the country," he enthuses. "I was over in Biarritz recently and caught up with Federico Aramburu, who used to be at Glasgow, which was nice. Everything is fresh, a completely different mix for me, and it's great to be seeing these different places and be given the chance to play there."

Back in the Scotland side for the Six Nations, Beattie is also in the frame to match the achievement of his father John by becoming a Lion as well. First things first, though, which means his attention is focused only on that thunderous all-French encounter were Clermont this afternoon.

Clermont were bitterly disappointed to lose narrowly to Leinster in last year's semi-finals but they took their revenge in the pool stages this season, beating the defending champions home and away and knocking them out of the competition.

They shared the distinction with Harlequins of being the only sides to come through the group phase with 100% records. Beattie, however, struck an upbeat note.

"They are definitely one of the top two or three sides in Europe at the moment, as they have been for the past five or six years," he said. "We lost by a few points when we played them there in the league but we actually played quite well and held the ball well and managed to stifle some of their attacks.

"They put 10 tries past Agen last week, so we know their attacking threat is absolutely phenomenal. They have people who can break tackles right across the pitch. But their real strength is in their organisation and discipline and the way they are coached. We employ a rush defence so we have to try to get up and pressurise them as best we can, try to force them to make mistakes. They are only human after all."

It is not entirely clear whether that could be said of Mamuka Gorgodze, the mighty Georgian lock/blindside in the Montpellier pack. The men from Languedoc-Rousillon can also call on the playmaking brilliance of Francois Trinh-Duc at fly-half and footballing nous of Fulgence Ouedraogo in the back row.

Clermont are still the overwhelming favourites, but Beattie wants the European dream to go on. "The reward for us would be a semi-final back in Montpellier because of the way the draw has worked out. It will be held at the Stade Mosson, which is the Montpellier football club stadium, which would be absolutely incredible for us. There is certainly a carrot in front of us there."