ASM Clermont Auvergne
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Full name | Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne | ||
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Nickname(s) | Montferrand Les Jaunards (The Yellow Guys) Les Jaune et Bleu (The Yellow and Blues) La Yellow Army | ||
Founded | 1911 | ||
Location | Clermont-Ferrand, France | ||
Ground(s) | Stade Marcel-Michelin (Capacity: 19,372) | ||
Chairman | Michelin | ||
President | Jean-Claude Pats | ||
Coach(es) | Christophe Urios | ||
Captain(s) | Arthur Iturria | ||
Most appearances | Éric Nicol (437) | ||
Top scorer | Gérald Merceron (2,704) | ||
Most tries | Aurélien Rougerie (134) | ||
League(s) | Top 14 | ||
2023–24 | 8th | ||
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Official website | |||
[[1] www |
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne (pronounced [klɛʁmɔ̃ ovɛʁɲ]) is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French champions in 2010 and 2017. The rugby section is a part of a multi-sport club called AS Montferrand (also known as ASM Omnisports), which was founded in 1911 and adopted that name in 1919. Although the rugby section changed its name to the current ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004, it is still frequently referred to as Montferrand both within and outside France.
The team play at the 19,022-seat Stade Marcel-Michelin, also known by its nickname, The Bib Park. Clermont wear yellow and blue, the colours of the French tyre manufacturer Michelin, taken from the colours of Montferrand when the firm was created there in 1889.
The city is where Marcel Michelin, the son of the founder of the French tyre manufacturer, decided to implement the first factory but also the stadium after the creation of ASM for its workers before World War I. L'ASM, as they are also called, have reached the French Championship final thirteen times, losing on each occasion until their eleventh trip in 2010, when they won the championship in their 100th year as a club.[1]
History
[edit]Amateur era
[edit]The club was established in 1911 as AS Michelin, though they changed their name to AS Montferrandaise in 1919 due to legal obligation. The club was started by Marcel Michelin, the son of André Michelin, the founder of the Michelin tyre manufacturer. He died in deportation at Buchenwald; he had been deported there as a member of the Resistance and was involved in two successful escape attempts before dying during the third.
The club made its first final of any competition in 1935, where they played Perpignan for the Challenge Yves du Manoir. AS Montferrand lost the match, 3–3 and 9–0. The following year they featured in their first championship final; though they lost to RC Narbonne 6 points to 3. They made the final again in 1937, though that match was also lost, 13 points to 7 to CS Vienne. The following season the club won its first title; winning the Challenge Yves du Manoir by defeating Perpignan 23 points to 10.
During the 1940s the club contested the Coupe de France on two occasions, in 1945 and 1947. The club lost on both occasions, by one point, 14 to 13 to SU Agen in 1945, and then 14 to 11 against Toulouse in 1947. It would be another 10 years until the club featured in another competition final; losing to US Dax in the 1957 Challenge Yves du Manoir. The club became a force during the 1970s, starting in 1970 with a 3 points to nil championship loss to La Voulte Sportif. The club then contested the Challenge Yves du Manoir twice in a row over the 1972–73 seasons; losing both finals, against AS Béziers and Narbonne respectively. Then they won the competition in 1976, defeating SC Graulhet 40 points to 12 just a few days after the death of the young international winger, Jean-François Philiponeau, struck on the field during an exhibition game. The club then contested the championship final in 1978, though they lost to Béziers. They also lost the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1979, against Narbonne.
In 1994 season the club contested both the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir. They lost the Challenge Yves du Manoir to Perpignan (the third time the clubs had met in the competition final). They also lost the championship, defeated 22 points to 16 by Toulouse.
Professional era
[edit]The club contested two finals in the 1999 season as well, the French championship and the European Challenge Cup. They won the European Challenge Cup, defeating fellow French club CS Bourgoin-Jallieu 35 points to 16 at the Stade Gerland in Lyon. However they lost the domestic final, being defeated by Toulouse again, 15 points to 11. The club would meet Toulouse again in the season final of 2001, with Toulouse winning 34 points to 22. In 2004 they contested the European Challenge Cup again, though they lost to English club Harlequins, by one point, 27 to 26 at the last minute.
The team experienced a hard period between 2002 and 2006 and it was only with the arrival of Vern Cotter, in the middle of 2006, that the team's form began to improve.[citation needed] In Vern Cotter's first year as head coach, Clermont reached their first final since 2001 (which they lost in the last minute against Stade Français), and won the European Challenge Cup against Bath at the Twickenham Stoop. Montferrand developed further under Vern Cotter during the following two seasons, but they lose two more finals against Toulouse in 2008, and Perpignan in 2009. But the team continues to bounce back and perform well years of years.
In 2010, in the Heineken Cup the team was drawn against Leicester Tigers and Ospreys in a tough pool. Despite this Montferrand succeeded in winning the pool and were subsequently drawn against the holders of the cup, Leinster Rugby. That was the beginning of what would become one of the greatest rivalries in rugby. In an epic battle, Montferrand lost 29–28. After this loss, they went on to win all of their remaining games to win the French championship against Perpignan (19–6) with a notably exceptional display during the semi-final against RC Toulon in Saint-Etienne.
In 2012 they reached the semi-final of the Heineken Cup. They were beaten by Leinster Rugby and were inches from winning the game at the end but Wesley Fofana dropped the ball on Leinster's try line.
Clermont reached the Heineken Cup final for the first time in 2013 after they beat Munster Rugby 16–10 in the semi-final in Montpellier. They subsequently lost to Toulon in the HEC final which was held in Lansdowne Road in Dublin on 18 May 2013 by a single point (16–15).
In 2014, Clermont reached the Heineken Cup semi-final of the play-offs for the second consecutive time and lost to Saracens.
2015 saw Clermont make it to the final of the European Cup (now European Rugby Champions Cup) but lost to RC Toulon 24–18. A few weeks later, they also lost the final of the French Top 14 against Stade Français 12–6.
2016 saw Clermont having their first blow in the European Rugby Champions Cup since 2011 by failing to make the quarter final after a late loss against Bordeaux at home. But they finally reached the French championship semi-final with a highly controversial lose against Racing 92.
However, the team bounced back and produced during the season 2016-2017, reaching again two finals in the French Top 14 and European Champions Cup. They lost the European Cup against reigning champions Saracens.
In January 2020, Clermont acquired a minority stake in the American rugby club New Orleans Gold. In addition to player exchanges, the teams will seek to facilitate cultural exchanges between the state of Louisiana and France.[2]
Honours
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Vercingetorix_ASM_Clermont-Auvergne.jpg/220px-Vercingetorix_ASM_Clermont-Auvergne.jpg)
- European Rugby Champions Cup
- European Rugby Challenge Cup
- French championship Top 14
- Challenge Yves du Manoir
- Champions (3): 1938, 1976, 1986
- Runners-up (6): 1935, 1957, 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994
- French Cup
- Runners-up (2): 1945, 1947
- League Cup
- Champions (1):2001
Finals results
[edit]Heineken Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup
[edit]Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
18 May 2013 | ![]() | 16–15 | ![]() | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | 51,142 |
2 May 2015 | ![]() | 24–18 | ![]() | Twickenham, London | 56,662 |
13 May 2017 | ![]() | 28–17 | ![]() | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | 55,272 |
European Rugby Challenge Cup
[edit]Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
27 February 1999 | ![]() | 35–16 | ![]() | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 31,986 |
22 May 2004 | ![]() | 27–26 | ![]() | Madejski Stadium, Reading | 13,123 |
19 May 2007 | ![]() | 22–16 | ![]() | Twickenham Stoop, London | 10,134 |
10 May 2019 | ![]() | 36–16 | ![]() | St James' Park, Newcastle | 28,438 |
French championship
[edit]Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
10 May 1936 | RC Narbonne | 6–3 | AS Montferrand | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 25,000 |
2 May 1937 | CS Vienne | 13–7 | AS Montferrand | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 17,000 |
17 May 1970 | La Voulte Sportif | 3–0 | AS Montferrand | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 35,000 |
28 May 1978 | AS Béziers | 31–9 | AS Montferrand | Parc des Princes, Paris | 42,004 |
28 May 1994 | Stade Toulousain | 22–16 | AS Montferrand | Parc des Princes, Paris | 48,000 |
29 May 1999 | Stade Toulousain | 15–11 | AS Montferrand | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 78,000 |
9 June 2001 | Stade Toulousain | 34–22 | AS Montferrand | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 78,000 |
9 June 2007 | Stade Français | 23–18 | ASM Clermont | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,654 |
28 June 2008 | Stade Toulousain | 26–20 | ASM Clermont | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,275 |
6 June 2009 | USA Perpignan | 22–13 | ASM Clermont | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,205 |
29 May 2010 | ASM Clermont | 19–6 | USA Perpignan | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,262 |
13 June 2015 | Stade Français | 12–6 | ASM Clermont | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,000 |
4 June 2017 | ASM Clermont | 22–16 | RC Toulon | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,771 |
15 June 2019 | Stade Toulousain | 24–18 | ASM Clermont | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79,786 |
Challenge Yves du Manoir
[edit]Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
1935 | USA Perpignan | 3–3, 6–0 | AS Montferrand |
1938 | AS Montferrand | 23–10 | USA Perpignan |
1957 | US Dax | 6–6* | AS Montferrand |
1972 | AS Béziers | 27–6 | AS Montferrand |
1976 | AS Montferrand | 40–12 | SC Graulhet |
1979 | RC Narbonne | 9–7 | AS Montferrand |
1985 | RC Nice | 21–16 | AS Montferrand |
1986 | AS Montferrand | 22–15 | FC Grenoble |
1994 | USA Perpignan | 18–3 | AS Montferrand |
* Note: by virtue of younger players
French Cup
[edit]Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
1945 | SU Agen | 14–13 | AS Montferrand |
1947 | Stade Toulousain | 14–11 | AS Montferrand |
Current standings
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Toulouse (Q) | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 765 | 592 | +173 | 103 | 72 | 7 | 3 | 76 | Playoffs and Qualification for 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup |
2 | Stade Français (Q) | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 539 | 511 | +28 | 57 | 49 | 4 | 1 | 75 | |
3 | Bordeaux Bègles (Q) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 677 | 558 | +119 | 80 | 66 | 5 | 4 | 69 | |
4 | Toulon (Q) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 704 | 519 | +185 | 72 | 58 | 5 | 4 | 69 | |
5 | La Rochelle (Q) | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 595 | 496 | +99 | 69 | 49 | 5 | 7 | 66 | |
6 | Racing 92 (Q) | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 622 | 546 | +76 | 79 | 56 | 5 | 5 | 62 | |
7 | Castres | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 643 | 642 | +1 | 69 | 77 | 4 | 6 | 62 | Qualification for 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup |
8 | Clermont | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 621 | 671 | −50 | 74 | 78 | 6 | 3 | 61 | |
9 | Pau | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 630 | 609 | +21 | 68 | 72 | 3 | 5 | 60 | Qualification for 2024–25 European Rugby Challenge Cup |
10 | Perpignan | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 634 | 701 | −67 | 80 | 85 | 5 | 1 | 58 | |
11 | Lyon | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 630 | 754 | −124 | 72 | 90 | 5 | 2 | 55 | |
12 | Bayonne | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 572 | 669 | −97 | 65 | 77 | 2 | 6 | 52 | |
13 | Montpellier (Q) | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 542 | 655 | −113 | 61 | 79 | 1 | 7 | 44 | Qualification for Relegation play-off |
14 | Oyonnax (R) | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 539 | 790 | −251 | 58 | 99 | 0 | 4 | 34 | Relegation to Pro D2 |
(Q) Qualified for the playoffs; (R) Relegated
Current squad
[edit]The Clermont squad for the 2023–24 season is:[3][4]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Espoirs squad
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
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Notable former players
[edit]![]() | This list of "famous" or "notable" people has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help improve this article by defining clear inclusion criteria to contain only subjects that fit those criteria. (December 2015) |
Alejandro Campos
Agustín Creevy
Mario Ledesma
Gonzalo Longo
Martín Scelzo
Hernán Senillosa
Peter Betham
Pat Howard
Brock James
Sitaleki Timani
John Ulugia
Jamie Cudmore
Cameron Pierce
Jan Macháček
Nick Abendanon
Brian Ashton
Richard Cockerill
Rory Jennings
Alex King
David Strettle
Seremaia Bai
Vilimoni Delasau
Kini Murimurivalu
Napolioni Nalaga
David Attoub
Alexandre Audebert
Olivier Azam
Franck Azéma
Benoît Baby
Jean-Pascal Barraque
Julien Bonnaire
David Bory
Michel Boucheron
Olivier Brouzet
Jean-Marcellin Buttin
Benoit Cabello
Judicaël Cancoriet
Charlie Cassang
Stéphane Castaignède
Raphaël Chanal
Raphaël Chaume
Damien Chouly
Arnaud Costes
Franck Comba
Vincent Debaty
Thomas Domingo
Michel Droitecourt
André Dubertrand
Laurent Emmanuelli
Sipili Falatea
Lionel Faure
Anthony Floch
Alessio Galasso
Camille Gerondeau
Loann Goujon
Kevin Gourdon
Rémy Grosso
Arthur Iturria
Loïc Jacquet
Christophe Juillet
Benjamin Kayser
Daniel Kotze
Thierry Lacrampe
Rémi Lamerat
Jean-Marc Lhermet
Camille Lopez
Olivier Magne
Julien Malzieu
Jimmy Marlu
Philippe Marocco
Tony Marsh
Gérald Merceron
Olivier Merle
Geoffroy Messina
Arnaud Mignardi
Pierre Mignoni
Noa Nakaitaci
Laurent Pardo
Morgan Parra
Alexandre Péclier
Adrien Pélissié
Damian Penaud
Julien Pierre
Adrien Planté
Lucas Pointud
Bastien Pourailly
Thibaut Privat
Louis Puech
Ludovic Radosavljevic
Clément Ric
Jean-Pierre Romeu
Laurent Rodriguez
Aurélien Rougerie
Jacques Rougerie
Philippe Saint-André
Christophe Samson
Enzo Sanga
Atila Septar
David Skrela
Cédric Soulette
Scott Spedding
Jérôme Thion
Romain Taofifenua
Sebastien Vahaamahina
Elvis Vermeulen
Sébastien Viars
Pierre Vigouroux
Tani Vili
Otar Giorgadze
Beka Kakabadze
Viktor Kolelishvili
Goderdzi Shvelidze
Davit Zirakashvili
Gonzalo Canale
Alessandro Troncon
Kotaro Matsushima
Sam Broomhall
Mike Delany
Zac Guildford
Joe Karam
Regan King
Sione Lauaki
Kevin Senio
Sitiveni Sivivatu
Benson Stanley
Isaia Toeava
Julien Bardy
Taylor Gontineac
Tasesa Lavea
Tim Nanai-Williams
Ti'i Paulo
George Pisi
John Senio
Gavin Williams
Paul Burnell
Greig Laidlaw
Jason White
Nathan Hines
Selborne Boome
Marius Joubert
Breyton Paulse
Brent Russell
John Smit
Gerhard Vosloo
Samuel Ezeala
Pierre-Emmanuel Garcia
Seti Kiole
Johnny Ngauamo
Kevin Dalzell
Jonathan Davies
Stephen Jones
Lee Byrne
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Couret, Jean-Paul (30 May 2010). "Clermont beat Perpignan to end 10-final jinx in Top 14". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ Williams, Bob (30 January 2020). "Austin MLR team gains new name and owners, NOLA Gold partners with Clermont Auvergne". SportBusiness. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "Effectif" (in French). 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Clermont squad for season 2023/2024". All Rugby. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
External links
[edit]- (in French) Official website
- (in French) ASM Rugby supporters club web site