The situation is tense in Clermont. ASM has won only one of its last seven Top 14 matches (1 draw and 5 defeats) and remains humiliation on the UBB pitch last weekend (41-7). Results for a pitiful 11th place in the championship five days from the end of the regular phase.
If the Auvergnats play in a week, a Challenge Cup semi-final in London against the Durban Sharks with the hope of saving their season, in Top 14, they no longer harbor any ambition. On the contrary, they are under the threat of a 13th place synonymous with a jump-off for maintenance, with only 4 points ahead of 13th, Montpellier.
On the eve of hosting the leader, the Stade Français Paris, this Saturday evening at the Marcel Michelin stadium, the Clermontois therefore have little room for error, they who are already vilified by some of their supporters, unhappy with the management of the club and sports results.
Christophe Urios played on this spring this Friday at a press conference. “ASM is in a moment of truth! It’s in these moments that we see everyone’s true values. Against the Parisians, it’s the ideal match to show what we are, what we want to do. (…) I am not lying to myself or to anyone about the ranking. We’re not very good, neither at the bottom nor at the top, we’re a bit in the middle. But what matters to me is to win the next match and make sure the team is well prepared for that. This is what motivates and excites us, especially when things are stressful and there is pressure. That’s what being competitive is all about.”
The Clermont manager also spoke about the criticism. “When I read that Clermont is an empire in danger, that it seems that there are no leaders, etc.… We are spit on, we are not respected, we are not afraid. So we will have to show what we can do. We have to react as a team tomorrow evening at Michelin. It is the right time. I feel the group mobilized, there is a kind of smell of blood surrounding this match, but when you like competition, it’s great…”