From a mixed preparation to a grandiose finale, the Montpellier residents experienced a weekend full of emotions, marked by the first public speaking of Stuart Hogg, decisive against Clermont.
The sun was starting to set in Clermont. Around 5 p.m., the handful of Montpellier supporters tried with panache to stand out from the thick Yellow Army who had come en masse to see their Jaunards celebrate the last of 2024 as it should be. We even heard the famous chant “Oh firecracker!” resonated below the Limagrain stand, which had brought so much joy to the Cistes during their coronation in 2022. On the Clermont side, the predictions flew as always with an ounce of pessimism in the light of the composition of the Héraultais. “Still heavy…” whispered some of them in the middle of the blue Michelin seats. Again, yes. After Leinster and La Rochelle, the Montpellier golgoths came to Auvergne without flashes but with a well-rehearsed plan.
However, the week was not satisfactory for Hérault. Like each of the Top 14 teams, the MHR only resumed on Thursday with a single intensive training session. A session that did not amaze Joan Caudullo. “Mentally, I felt that we were in place, but training was difficult. I saw what we generally produced on Mondays, during a classic restart, but here, we were two days away from a trip to Clermont” remembered the Hérault manager, who had nevertheless announced the color well before Christmas Eve. “After our victory against Racing, the team to play ASM was almost ready. Moreover, we had told certain players that they would be there just a few hours after this match against Racing.”
Icon Sport – Romain Biard
He was a little annoying talking to us about maintenance… but he was right
A profitable strategy mixed with a cold, clinical and devilishly effective game plan: a terrible ground game, a conquering scrum and a destructive kicking game. This was the winning recipe for a Hérault team which never panicked, even when it was led 12-3 in the first act, and 15-13 with a quarter of an hour to go. Immense in defense, Florian Verhaeghe's teammates responded in the best possible way to their coach's incessant harping. “He was a bit annoying to talk to us about maintaining… but he was right (laughs). We came out of a year where we came close to relegation so he kept us on our toes. It’s very good, but we didn't arrive at all, we're not in the six and we can quickly go from one place to another in a few matches to come and win here is always something magnificent, it fuels our confidence and we keep going. the dynamics” appreciated the second international line, who notably stole two decisive balls into touch. As soon as the final whistle blew, the Cistes jumped for joy like children, well aware of having struck a huge blow on land that had never fallen before this season.
Stuart Hogg's Tears
Lenni Nouchi, for example, slammed the Montpellier bench with all his might while Léo Coly leapt to the sky in the middle of the Michelin pitch. Others, conversely, released their emotions, like Stuart Hogg. After a start to the season marked by a hand operation and, above all, news items (where he pleaded guilty to moral harassment of his ex-wife), the Scotsman got his ideas back in place in Auvergne. Established at the opening, the professional fullback passed the decisive penalties to bring back four points from the volcanoes region. And for the first time since his arrival, Stuart Hogg presented himself at a press conference, black cap screwed on his head, his voice a little trembling.
“I am infinitely grateful for the trust that Bernard (Laporte) and Joan (Caudullo) gave me. When I was in contact with Bernard I told him that I had physical problems, and he replied that it was mentally, and that I would feel good in Montpellier I cried at the end of the match because it meant a lot to me. I want to be part of a winning team. love this team.” Strong words to conclude a gala evening and reconnect with the Montpellier tradition of coming to win in the Michelin. Between 2014 and 2019, the MHR never lost a single battle in Clermont and transformed itself into the black cat of the ASM each time it came to Puy-de-Dôme. In the last hours of 2024, the renaissance of the Héraultais has undoubtedly begun in their former favorite destination…
