Top 14: big operation for Clermont who finally manages to defeat Lyon and secures a bonus

Men and upset by an assertive Lyon OU in the first half, ASM Clermont signed a much stronger second act to blow up the Lyonnais and pocket five valuable points in the race for qualification in the Top 14 finals. The players of ASM had things to make up for. A poorly managed finish and an untimely defeat against direct competitor Montpellier (20-17) on March 21. Then a 64-20 correction with five tries conceded in eleven minutes against Stade Français, a week later. Behind, Baptiste Jauneau’s teammates, out of the running in Europe, had three long weeks to ruminate over it.

“We had to redeem ourselves. In front of our fans. From ourselves,” said Auvergne center Léon Darricarrère. “Show pride, dignity. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but we had things to prove.”

However, at halftime of the match against LOU, for whom the stakes were relatively low, the Clermont players did not show the face of a revengeful team. “We may have had too much excitement,” analyzed Léon Darricarrère. “It’s not at all what we had planned. We didn’t plan to defend that much. We knew it was a dangerous team, with many X factors. We had to keep the ball.”

A unifying speech at halftime

“We put the cart before the horse,” coach Christophe Urios illustrated. “We were so eager to play a dynamic match, that we weren’t patient. We didn’t build. We were out of order.” As a result, many lost balls, lack of support. Lack of inspiration. And very realistic Lyonnais, a thorn in the shoe, who, leading 16-10 after five minutes in the second half, saw themselves pulling off a good move, as they hadn’t won at the foot of the volcanoes for over seventy years. And thus keeping a glimmer of hope for the top 6 in a crowded Michelin stadium that had considerably reduced in volume.

So if the walls of the Clermont dressing room may have trembled a little at halftime, it was thanks to captain Baptiste Jauneau’s initiative. “Baptiste criticized the supports,” recounted Léon Darricarrère. “He did a bit too many rucks! So he wasn’t too happy…”. “We said “don’t panic,” assured Christophe Urios. We said we needed to be in control, have good starts, keep the ball.”

Things in order then. And an individual feat too to electrify everyone. Delguy beautifully took the gap to serve Jauneau, scorer of the second Clermont try. In the 48th minute, Clermont took the lead. And the festival could begin. Dominant in impact, imperial in the lineout around Tixeront whose entry at halftime was important, the Clermont players found holes in the suddenly porous defense of a LOU team. Thirty minutes of breaks, offloads, acrobatic passes, favorable bounces later, ASM had folded LOU, inflicting a 31-3 score in half an hour. Six total tries scored. Five points in the bag. And a place in the Top 6 secured at the end of the 21st round. “The president made a fair remark to me,” said Christophe Urios, with a smile. He said the birth was difficult… But it ended well.” At least for this time…