 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  | |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  | |  |
Cotter sees similar threats in the philosophy of Clermont's next two opponents and, with most neutrals split 50-50 as to who will make it through to the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham on May 19, the New Zealander is hopeful that plenty of lessons will be learnt this weekend.
"Montpellier play the same kind of rugby that we expect Leinster to play against us," said Cotter.
"They have the best attack in the Top14 and it's a great opportunity to test our defence one more time before the semi-final in Bordeaux.
"Montpellier have great power in the forwards, their backs are quick and they have a good goal kicker. They're fourth in the Top14 Championship but I'm exited to be facing a team which plays offensive and fast rugby.
"We need to see how are we going to defend against a team that has the ability to accelerate the game at any time like Leinster. We should learn a lot from this match."
Montpellier played Leinster in the group stages of this season's Heineken Cup, drawing the pool opener on French soil before being well beaten at the RDS.
And those recent experiences against the 2009 and 2011 champions mean it won't be just the performance of his own side that should give Cotter some ammunition as he intends to pick opposite number Fabien Galthie's brains after the match itself.
"Montpellier played Leinster twice and nearly won at home," added Cotter, who is seeking improvement from last week's win over Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finalists Stade Francais.
"I think I will have a discussion with Fabien Galthié at the end of the game. Maybe he will have some tips and we'll have an interesting conversation after the match.
"Our result against Stade Francais last Saturday was a positive one because we won but we weren't satisfied with how we played. We showed a good will and a terrific fighting spirit during the first half but in second half we played unorganised rugby and had less control of the game.
"We've worked on these weaknesses at the beginning of this week because if we don't improve it won't be enough against Montpellier or against Leinster."
