THOMAS Lombard will touch down in his native France tomorrow but a warm welcome is the last thing he is expecting.

Having spent eight years with a highly-successful Stade Francais side, the Warriors centre knows all about being a visitor to the rugby hotbed in the south of the country and is anticipating a bruising encounter in Saturday's European Challenge Cup clash with Albi.

Lombard likens the newly-promoted club to the Worcester side he joined back in 2004.

Like many teams in their first season in the top-flight, Albi try to bully opponents up front rather than play a high-risk expansive game.

"They play typical old-style French rugby," he said. "The type of rugby that is based on physicality. They have got a strong scrum and they don't play a lot of rugby.

"In the first year in the Top 14, everybody is going to try and come and beat you at home. The only way they can play is to be as nasty as possible on the pitch and to scare the team who are coming to play against them."

The Albi team which takes the field at Stadium municipal d'Albi this weekend will probably bear little resemblance to the one which visited Sixways last Saturday.

"The team we played against was the second team," said Lombard. "They are going to be focused on the next league game on December 22 and they are going to want some momentum going into that. They are going to play a strong side."

But the 31-year-old believes his team-mates were given a taste of things to come in the last 20 minutes when fists seemed to be flying in all directions.

And it won't just be on the pitch that Worcester receive a hostile reception. While Stade are the only attraction in Paris for rugby fans, the south is far more congested and supporters are all the more partisan as a consequence.

"They are a small village, probably one of the smallest cities or towns in the Top 14," said Lombard of Saturday's opponents.

"In this part of France there are 10 to 12 teams. Rugby is very, very important and the rivalry between the teams is very big."

Lombard was due to return to France in the summer when his wife Stephanie was expecting their second child and was less than satisfied with the service provided by local medics.

Fortunately, Warriors chairman Cecil Duckworth intervened and the couple happily reversed their decision - much to the delight of the Sixways faithful.

While he is enjoying life at Worcester, Lombard admits the intensity of the Premiership has taken it's toll on his body and believes he will call time on his rugby career sooner rather than later.

"I am going to be 32 in June," he said. "I started playing first division rugby at 17. My body is alright but my recovery is not as quick.

"The problem with professionalism is the training kills you. It is not the games. You are always happy to play the games."

Lombard is very much from the old school of rugby professionals who enjoy a "few pints after the game". He admits he has no plans to try to emulate the longevity of his team-mate Tony Windo, who is still going strong at the age of 37.

"I have been involved in 95 per cent of the games in the last few years and we don't get any break during the season," he said.

"I will play maybe two more years of rugby and then put the boots in the garage and find a job."

Lombard won four French titles with Stade but admits the pressure of being involved at the other end of the table is a far more energy-sapping experience.

He added: "When you achieve things, you are always fresh on the Monday because you have won at the weekend. If you start to lose, it is very hard."