Pool 5

European Form

Clermont

One-time AS Montferrand, now ASM Clermont Auvergne, is surely the strongest team in this pool, if past form is anything to go on.  They have been almost ever-present in ERC competitions indicating that they have been in the top flight of French rugby throughout.  The only year they were missing was in the inaugural year of the Heineken Cup.

Clermont have been in the HC four times, getting to the quarter-finals twice, in 1999/0 they lost 31-18 at Toulouse and in 2001/2 they lost 22-21 at Castres.  In 2002/3 and in 2005/6 they failed to get out of the pool stage.

This is Clermont’s 7^th season in the ECC.  They won the Cup in 1998/9 beating Dax (66-13), Narbonne (27-21) and Bourgoin (35-16) in the knockout stages.  Funnily enough, they had already met Dax and Bourgoin in the pool stages that season.  In 2003/4 they beat Leonessa (113-3), Newcastle Falcons (28-23), Saracens (40-28), and Bath (53-51) all over two legs.  In the final they cruelly denied by a last kick conversion as NEC Harlequins won 27-26.

They have been to the quarter-finals of the ECC three times: in 1996/7 they lost 17-15 at Bourgoin, in 1997/8 they lost 23-13 at Colomiers and in 2004/5 they lost 50-47 over two legs to Pau.  To reach at least the quarter-finals 5 times in 6 attempts is a remarkable achievement.  They have lost just 12 of 43 games in doing this.

Worcester

Only their third year in the competition, Worcester have not done too badly.  In 2004/5 they went out in the first round to Brive (55-39 over two legs).  Relegated to the Shield competition, they beat Rovigo (115-17), Leonessa (60-18) and Leeds Tykes (73-64) all over two legs.  In the final, they went down 23-10 to Auch.  Last season they topped their pool with 5 wins out of 6 games (only Connacht beat them, and that was by the smallest margin, 22-21).  In the quarter-final they won 34-25 at Northampton Saints, before losing 31-23 at eventual winners Gloucester.

Viadana

Another weak Italian team, this is their 7^th successive year in European Competition.  Their one appearance in the HC in 2002/3 saw them lose all 6 games (though, in fairness, in a pool of Munster, Gloucester and Perpignan).

The highlight in the ECC was in 2003/4.  Going down 61-40 to Brive over two legs, they were relegated to the Shield.  They beat Madrid (103-30), Rotherham (53-52) and Overmach Parma (75-59), all over two legs.  This got them to the final, where Montpellier beat them 25-19.  In 2004/5 they were unfortunate, beating Valladolid (147-10 over two legs) and then losing to Agen (40-37 over two legs) in the second round.

Otherwise, they have not been too successful.  They have won just 11 of 29 games in the ECC, reaching a nadir last season where they failed to win any of their 6 pool games.

Albi

Newly promoted to the Top14 in France, Albi’s form is the easiest to sum up: they have none.  This is Albi’s first appearance in any ERC competition. I suspect that survival in the Top14 will be more of a priority for this team.

Head to Head

None of the teams in this pool have ever met each other in ERC competitions.

Summary

Conclusion

With a weak Italian team, a newly promoted French team more intent on survival in the Top14 and a likewise distracted English team, Clermont should have no problems qualifying from this pool. 

Worcester might do enough to win qualification too, but this depends upon how they are doing domestically in the run up to the competition.  If they get a good start in the Guinness Premiership, they should be good prospects in the ECC.  A poor start and they may be tempted to de-emphasise this competition.

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