Bordeaux-Begles captain Matt Clarkin has admitted that his team-mates were "slightly surprised by Edinburgh" when the two sides met back in October and, as a result, they are fully focused ahead of the rematch tomorrow night at BT Murrayfield.

The two sides clash in their final European Rugby Challenge Cup pool four match, with Edinburgh top of the pool and Bordeaux one point behind them as both fight for a quarter-final berth.

And with Edinburgh having won 15-13 in Bordeaux in round one of the pool fixtures, the encounter has an added element of revenge attached to it.

Bordeaux have used the tournament to give some of their fringe players game time, meaning that 33-year-old New Zealander Clarkin has only been involved in two of five matches so far.

However, the back-row will be on the bench tomorrow night and he said: "We are just pleased to have managed to get into a position where we can still qualify for the last eight going into the final match. I think when Edinburgh came to Bordeaux and won they surprised us slightly as they were very physical and really took the game to us on our own patch.

"I was watching from the sidelines that night and I was impressed with how Edinburgh defended and their physicality at the breakdown. They also slowed the ball down very well when we were trying to attack and get back into things.

"As a result we know that we will be in for a tough match in Edinburgh, but we want to go out there and record a win and take Bordeaux into our first ever European final."

Having been born in Cirencester, England, Clarkin was brought up in New Zealand and in 2003 decided to move to France to ply his trade.

"I wanted to experience something different and I was lucky enough to end up in the Bordeaux area," he explains.

"Sadly, that was at a time when the club was going out of business and I made the move to Montauban. A few years later the president of the Bordeaux club was intent on getting the club back to where they once were and in 2010 I moved here and it has been a great journey ever since.

"We have secured promotions and such like and now we are fifth in the Top 14 which is really pleasing. As we have quite a big squad, we have used the Challenge Cup matches to give some of our younger guys a go, but make no mistake, we are in the competition to compete and to win it."

Clarkin enjoys working with former England and British & Irish Lions' back-row Joe Worsley, who is now defence coach with Bordeaux.

"The guys really buy in to what Joe is saying and he has been there and done that so his desire to win really rubs off on us all," the skipper concluded.