FORMER LEINSTER FLANKER Aidan McCullen told us an interesting little anecdote this week that reveals something of Clermont.
The one-time Ireland international had decided he was going to make the move to play in France in 2005 and was contacted by both Clermont and Toulouse.
Over the space of a couple of days he flew in to visit the pair of Top 14 clubs and was greeted in wholly different ways.
Jean-Marc Lhermet, Clermont’s director of rugby at the time, welcomed McCullen to Stade Marcel-Michelin but posed some demanding questions of the Irishman – ‘Why are you leaving Leinster? Pourquoi?‘
It felt like McCullen was attempting to convince Clermont he was worth bringing on board.
Next stop on the tour was Toulouse, were he was greeted with open arms at the airport and whisked away to meet the club’s recruitment specialist. McCullen was pointed in the direction of a sparkling new sportscar – ‘It’s yours if you sign for Toulouse.’
Onwards to the club’s stadium, where McCullen was wined and dined in the on-site restaurant run by a Michelin star-winning chef. That’s the food Michelin, not the tyre manufacturer.
In truth the glamour didn’t really affect McCullen’s decision, but he signed for Toulouse on a napkin right there in between the foie gras and cassoulet.
You can read more about McCullen’s French adventure on The42 on Sunday morning, but the point here is the contrast between Clermont’s approach and that of Toulouse and the other big French clubs.
Not a whole lot has changed since 2005; Clermont are still cautious in the transfer market, maybe even frugal.
It’s certainly not meant as a criticism and as they’ve shown with someone like Nick Abendanon this year, the Auvergne-based club are masters of recruitment. They don’t bring in too many bad ones.
In tune with a location in the city of Clermont-Ferrand in the centre of France that the rest of the country sneers at, Clermont are far from glamorous as an organisation. Their rugby, however, certainly is.
We shouldn’t give the impression that Clermont don’t have financial might here – their budget of just under €28million is the second biggest in France – it’s just that they don’t quite flash it around as much as others.
It’s partly what makes them such a likeable club and one of the reasons the vast majority of neutrals will be willing a Clermont win in Saturday’s Champions Cup final at Twickenham.
The Irish links to Clermont are more substantial that those to fellow finalists Toulon, and indeed Munster fans feel a strong affinity with their Auvergne counterparts. The Red Army has felt the pain of repeated near misses before reaching their European holy grail.
Losing finalists to Toulon in the 2013 Heineken Cup, as well as semi-final exits in 2012 and 2014, Clermont have an equally frustrating record of coming close in the Top 14.
The only time in the club’s history that they did get over the line and win the league was in 2010, back when Joe Schmidt was an integral part of the club as a highly-influential assistant to then head coach Vern Cotter.
It might be that another Leinster-connected coach helps them finally get over their European hurdle. Jono Gibbes has made a big impact in charge of the forwards alongside Franck Azéma, although many Leinster fans would like him back in the provincial fold as top man.
Perhaps that much is an inevitability in 2016.
For now, Gibbes is another factor that will lead to Clermont getting the Irish vote tomorrow. The Yellow Army, les jaunards, are another.
Anyone who has had the fortune of visiting Clermont for a European game, or was present in Saint-Étienne for this season’s semi-final victory over Saracens, will understand the quality of support Clermont receive.
It’s a disappointment and a slight surprise that more of them haven’t opted to travel to London for the final, but few would begrudge Clermont and their fans getting their hearts’ desire. Rugby often makes little compensation for sentimentality so Azéma’s men will have to deliver on the pitch.
They have been the most attractive team in Europe for a number of years now, but we simply haven’t seen the best of them in the high-stakes knock-out games on a consistent basis.
Oddly enough, it might be their fragility in recent times that makes them such a popular neutral’s choice, but the only way to move past that ‘chokers’ tag is by beating a Toulon squad that threatens to dominate into the next two or three seasons.
Ireland, it appears, is behind them.
Didnt Robbie try to back heel a goal in that champions league tie and fluff it