ASM Clermont Auvergne backs coach Joe Schmidt has backed Brock James despite the fly half describing his own performance as "rubbish" as the French side bowed out of the Heineken Cup.
Schmidt accepted the life and luck of a fly half can be cruel, and said: " Brock has been our kicker for the past four years and I still have a lot of confident in him. He missed a few, then picked up a couple and we hoped that that would put him back on target."
"But it wasn't to be but I still thanked him for his efforts in the dressing room afterwards and told him to look after himself and get sorted out for next week."
James ended an horrendous night with his usually trusty boot by missing a drop goal attempt from 25 metres that would have won the game with the last kick of the match.
That was his third miss in the drop goal stakes and was also errant with with five goal kicks. That led to a brutally honest assessment of his night's work.
He said: "I was rubbish tonight - it was just one of those things. I don't know what got into me,"
"I just wasn't good enough and it is so disappointing because we had the opportunity to win the game.
"We got ourselves ahead, but then out of the game and didn't keep our hands on t5he ball."
"Leinster capitalised on our mistakes that we always knew that if we played our game we were going to be in with a chance of winning."
"We really wanted to go to the next stage in this tournament but now I guess we'll have to go back to turn our attentions to the Top 14 - it's all we've got left to play for."
