How Clermont Auvergne have created the most intimidating fortress in European ...

“It’s just about being proud of what you’re doing and what you represent,”

said the New Zealander. “Here, there are shared values between the team and

the town. There is no other team close by here, so everyone is very united.

We’re in the middle of France and we like the fact we’re hiding away here

and battling our opposition.

“It is traditionally a working class town. It is a rural community, people are

attached to the land, the Puy de Dôme [the volcanic massif which towers over

Clermont-Ferrand]. There are symbolic things that unite people here, and

rugby is one of them.

“This is not a flamboyant part of the world. It’s not on the coast. The people

are not transient people; they are people who live here. They’re straight up

and I think that the town and the team represent those elements:

hard-working, humble, discreet almost. They don’t get carried away.”

Maybe not, but they take pride in the centrality of rugby. It is a serious

business. “Montferrand, on vit le rugby”, declares a giant yellow banner

that passes round the stadium in the minutes before kick off. There is a

contempt for le rugby-chic of Paris and le rugby-panache of Provence.

At Clermont they exalt le rugby de terroir instead. And yet, Clermont’s home

ground was not always an impregnable fortress. A dozen years ago, it had a

ramshackle look – something that could just as easily be said of the team,

then still called Montferrand – that carried the reputation of being

perennial bridesmaids and the burden of officials and backers who lurched

from one quick-fix attempt to another. Neil McIlroy, the Scot who is now

team manager, recalled the time.

“We had a lot of top-name players then. At that point the club was

underachieving and we had a president who was coming towards the end of his

term and wanted to get the first French title to Clermont before he retired.

He would do anything to make it happen – buying players, hiring and firing

coaches, sacking coaches in the middle of the season. It was a nightmare.

“There was a huge cultural change when Vern arrived eight years ago. He had

the experience of playing and coaching in France, so he had the language,

but he had also been a successful coach in New Zealand. Somehow, he managed

to combine the two things.

“Clermont was crying out for some structure and organisation and discipline.

That suited the town because it is very working class. Michelin are known

for being very straight shooters, very organised, and that sometimes goes

against the French psyche. Vern brought it in and everyone bought into it.

“I think what we have here is a unique thing in France. We’ve got a good mix

of Anglo-Saxon structure, discipline and organisation, but still the ability

to play some open French rugby. That is how we function: we are very

structured on and off the field, very organised.” And very determined.

McIlroy says the winning streak has never been a driving force, but concedes

that it might give Clermont a little extra thrust to close out tight games.

“We’ve had a few of those,” he explained. “We’ve had last-minute dropped

goals and penalties over the 80. But somehow we’ve managed to keep the thing

going.”

Article source: http://www.fanatix.com/news/munster-v-edinburgh-heineken-cup-live-rugby-union-streaming-match-preview/177170/

How Clermont Auvergne have created the most intimidating fortress in European ...