Swept home in the round of 16 first leg of the European Cup (29-10), the Auvergnats travel this Saturday to the lawn of the Midlands Tigers. Exploit or shipwreck?
A world apart. Clermont, only eighth in the Top 14 who are fighting for a ticket to the final stages, sank last Sunday against Leicester, leaders of the English Premiership. “29-10 is the truth and the difference between the two teams”, could only see Jono Gibbes, the manager of ASM, totally overwhelmed in the fight and slapped by the realism of the Midlands Tigers.
An observation shared by Auvergne second-line Sébastien Vahaamahina: “We may have been hesitant. As soon as we arrive in the decision zones, we have to try to make it happen, but each time they entered our 22 meters, they came out with points. We weren’t efficient, especially in the ruck areas. It would have been necessary to be faster and to be in support earlier.
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Authors of a chaotic season, with many more lows than highs, the Clermontois are condemned to the exploit at Welford Road. But they will above all try to avoid a shipwreck, a spectacular exit from the road. “Our desire is to raise our heads and play the best game possible. We need to travel with a strong mindset and assert our character in a mythical English rugby stadium, plant on the site of the club Thibaud Lanen, another second-line of the Jaunards. We know it will be a big test and a rewarding experience. We all have at heart to be efficient and to respond present at the level of the fight.
‘Present better opposition at Welford Road’
In Leicester, back to the fore after seasons in the doldrums, the battle will be fierce. Total commitment. “We have suffered too much, a reconnu Jono Gibbes. We were not efficient enough on defensive balls, in touch. We are not performing well enough at this level. Sometimes in the Top 14, yes, but at this level, in the final phase of the European Cup, we are not good enough at the moment. Lack of sharpness and power in the confrontation zones. A recurring evil for ASM in recent seasons.
The whole thing now is to go out with your head held high in England. The feat seems impossible, Clermont has never won in Leicester, so don’t sink. “We must now ask ourselves what efforts, without the ball, in the races, in our attitudes, that we must make to arrive a little earlier in the ruck zones and present a better opposition at Welford Road”, ahead Jono Gibbes. A rout at the English Tigers would certainly weigh down the end of the season for the Jaunards, who saw their old demons resurface from the first game of the final phase of the season.