Clermont manager Christophe Urios gave an initial assessment of the ASM Challenge Cup campaign. He talks about the elimination against the Sharks in the semi-final but above all the beautiful face displayed by his team. While Clermont will return to the Top 14 through a stormy trip to Usap, the objective is clear: reach the top 8.
Christophe Urios takes stock. The ASM manager looked back on his team’s Challenge Cup campaign, eliminated in the semi-final against the South African Sharks. On the club’s website and in front of the camera, the former UBB coach looks back in detail on Clermont’s journey, before obviously mentioning the cruel elimination last weekend against the Sharks in London.
Selected pieces : “We came out of this competition that we wanted to win. I remember two things: the tears after the defeat against the Sharks. And at the same time, all the quality and the potential that we showed in this competition. We saw a team of high level ASM Of course, we did not manage to beat this Sharks team and our objective is not achieved, but on the other hand it will give us a lot of confidence to continue moving forward.
Hot after the match, Urios had left the gloomy atmosphere in the ASM locker room with a shock formula : “In the locker room, it smelled like death… When you give everything and it comes down to nothing… (he sighs) It’s hard for the players. We wanted to win this European Cup and I remain convinced that the winner of this semi-final will win the competition at the end of May.”
We will have to bounce back
We must now move on for the ASM, which travels this weekend to Perpignan, 7th in the ranking and in the race to qualify for the final phases. Urios recognizes this: “We will have to get rid of this disappointment because it is a real disappointment. It’s not a poor performance but it’s a disappointment given the commitment we put into the match. So we will have to bounce back. Indeed, we are going to use this difficulty to learn from this difficult moment. And then I’m going to use things that worked. Whether it is through the group, the character of the group but also the individuals.”
If the qualification is not mathematically completed, with eight points behind sixth place (and eight ahead of 13th), the final phase operation seems impossible. But it’s up to the manager to find a new objective for the final sprint. “We have four games left. Our championship is not over. We need to look for other levers to be ambitious and why not go as high as possible. The president gave us the top 8 as a goal, because we also want to compete in the big European Cup. (Champions Cup). Why not. It’s an exciting challenge. Not easy. But we are capable of doing it, if we continue on the same line as the last two matches (Sharks and French Stadium).” Saturday at the end of the 23rd day of Top 14, we will know if the Clermontois have definitively put elimination in the Challenge Cup behind them.
