Champions Cup – In Bath, Clermont has already made an appointment with its new European history

Smiles were in order this Wednesday afternoon. Three days after extricating themselves at the last minute from a tricky trip to Vannesthe Clermontois soldiers are now focused on the Champions Cup, and a new trip north: to Bath. With an improved victory obtained against Treviso (28-0) and a frustrating defeat (15-7) at Leinster, the Jaunards are already in a position to qualify directly for the round of 16 of the competition. In the event of a victory in England, Christophe Urios’ men will advance to the next stage. Despite a busy schedule and a squad that only marginally regenerates, the Clermont boss targeted this trip to the Recreation Ground just a few minutes after the success of his team in Brittany.

“These are still big matches, but we want that. Clermont is a team which dominated the Top 14, which dominated the European Cup for years, and we were at the bottom of the wave. We are a little better. We need these confrontations, this toughness of the matches to show that Clermont wants to become what it was in the past. We are not being choosy, we will play the best team possible. bring back as many points as possible Bath and then we will have a final at home against Bristol. We want to qualify for the European Cup!”

Fainga’a only returned from the infirmary, Fischer spared

Behind the words, Christophe Urios will be able to count on the return of Folau Fainga’a, recovered from his foot injury, while Léon Darricarrère will have to wait one more week. Note that Alexandre Fischer attended today’s session in street clothes. Spared, the flanker notably made a huge entry in Vannes by offering the scratch of victory to his teammates on the siren. And to prepare for this change in competition, the Clermont staff prepared longer sessions than usual, to adapt to the actual playing time of the Champions Cup, and placed priority on kicking. At the end of the traditional training open to the public, Frédéric Charrier spent long minutes with his hinge to rehearse kicks, and in particular 50-22, where the ASM is not yet efficient enough (two achievements since 2023).

Faced with the mastery of Finn Russell, there is no doubt that the kicking game will be one of the keys to the game. The Clermontois also return to Bath for the first time since December 2019, where they emerged victorious from the meeting. Five years later, the two teams have changed a lot and Clermont is moving forward with a paradoxical team, first in the championship but beaten twice on the continental scene. “They lost in terrible conditions, in the rain against La Rochelle. We know that in closed play, the Rochelais are very difficult to move. And then I didn’t understand why they rotated their team in Treviso. But they have the particularity of aligning benches in “7-1” (seven forwards, three-quarters) with their South African coach (Johann van Graan) and a high level hinge. They master their subject!” notes the coach of the Auvergne three-quarters.