Exeter Chiefs
Chiefs v Clermont preview
Chiefs
By Black_Otter
October 17 2012
Black_Otter looks forward to Exeter Chiefs home Heineken Cup game v Clermont Auvergne.
AN OTTER'S WHISKER
So having coming within an otter's whisker of seeing of the reigning European champions, on Saturday we welcome to Sandy Park the greatest recent competitors to the European champions and the supposed pretenders in waiting. That's right, it's ASM Clermont-Auvergne, giants of French rugby.
So I thought I'd take a look at how they've been getting on in the T14. As of now, they lie 3rd in the league after 8 games, tucked in behind Toulon and Toulouse:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts |
| 1 | Toulon | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 225 | 141 | +84 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 32 |
| 2 | Montpellier | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 260 | 160 | +100 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 28 |
| 3 | Clermont Auvergne | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 129 | +57 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 28 |
But, it's not all been plain sailing for our French opposition, as the results suggest:
Bayonne 6 - 13 Clermont Auvergne
Montpellier 13 - 8 Clermont Auvergne
Clermont Auvergne 53 - 31 Perpignan
Clermont Auvergne 13 - 12 Racing Metro
Mont-de-Marsan 6 - 14 Clermont Auvergne
Clermont Auvergne 44 - 20 Grenoble
Clermont Auvergne 28 - 25 Stade Français
Castres 16 - 13 Clermont Auvergne
A defeat in Castres is no shame, as they are a notoriously difficult side to beat at home. A narrow win over Stade perhaps not as comfortable as expected, but a convincing victory over new boys Grenoble to make up. Mont-de-Marsan should have been dispatched with far greater ease, and Racing were far too close in Clermont. Perpignan were hammered, but then Montpellier, lacking several key Argentine internationals turned them over, and finally a recent win over Bayonne. As I discuss their form with my spy in the Clermont camp, I am assured that ASM have not completely clicked yet, nor really hit top gear for a full 80 minutes.
So what about in the first round of Europe? A sound thrashing over Llanelli Scarlets with a 49-16 scoreline - or was it that simple? The headline in the Rugby Paper read "Scarlets are scuppered by Stoddart sending-off", and in fact, when the hapless Welsh winger was dispatched for an early bath after 2 soft YC offences, Scarlets were still very much in the game (drawing at 13-all) - not bad against a side who have now won 50 times on the trot at home. In the second half, the extra man told, and with a solid forward platform, the Clermont backs were given room to run riot. The following two reports from Planetrugby.com and espnscrum.com (respectively) tell the tale:
Quote:Clermont canter past 14-man Scarlets
The sending off of Scarlets left wing Morgan Stoddart sparked a one-sided second-half in France as Clermont cruised to a 49-16 win on Saturday.
The Scarlets got off to a flying start at the Stade Marcel Michelin as Jonathan Davies scored a try after just three minutes, finishing off a great move that was started by George North and went through the hands of Scott Williams and Rhys Priestland. Morgan Parra soon got the home side on the scoreboard with two penalties though, the second of which came after Stoddart caught the ball in an offside position and was harshly despatched to the sin bin.
Far from struggling while they were down to 14 men though, the visitors actually extended their lead by six points during that 10 minute period as Priestland kicked a penalty and then took the opportunity to slot over a drop goal from in front of the posts.It all started to unravel for the Welshmen in the final ten minutes of the first half though. First, Parra broke away after a cleverly worked line-out before finding Sitiveni Sivivatu on his shoulder and the New Zealand international coasted over to score.And then, with the scores level at 13-13, Stoddart was given a red card after not rolling away from a tackle and lying on the wrong side of the ball to earn his second yellow+57 card of the afternoon.
Clermont were looking like scoring their second try of the game at the time after a great jinking run from Sivivatu but they had to settle for another Parra penalty, which gave them a 16-13 lead at the break.The prospect of playing an entire half a man short away from home against one of the best sides in Europe is a daunting one and it is no surprise that the Scarlets struggled to live with their opponents in the second half. The Clermont pack got the ball rolling with a penalty try in the opening couple of minutes and, although Priestland did respond with a penalty, tries from Lee Byrne and Damien Chouly wrapped the bonus point up well before the hour mark. Byrne had Sivivatu to thank for his try after the big winger provided a deft pass for the Welshman to sprint down the right-hand touchline and Chouly crashed over in the same corner after incessant pressure from the hosts.+57
Julien Bonnaire took the try count to five in the final 10 minutes, with the French international back row forward finishing off an overlap in the right-hand corner where Stoddart would have been defending. And flying Fijian winger Napolioni Nalaga intercepted a tired pass from Priestland in the last minute to make it six, with Brock James adding the conversion to take the total to one short of 50 and cap a resounding win for the French side.
and:
Match: Clermont Auvergne 49 - 16 Scarlets
Tournaments/Tours: Heineken Cup
Teams: Clermont Auvergne | Scarlets+57
Clermont Auvergne scored six tries and downed the Scarlets 49-16 in France on Saturday. The Welsh side were more than competitive for the first 37 minutes at the Stade Marcel Michelin, but Morgan Stoddart's dismissal for a second yellow effectively ended their hopes of an heroic Heineken Cup upset. The scores were level at 13-13 when the Wales wing - who was making just his second appearance since a 15-month injury lay off - saw red, but last season's beaten semi-finalists ran away with game after that to secure a comprehensive bonus-point success.
Jon Davies' early try was the highlight for the Scarlets but Clermont crossed for six scores of their own, with Damien+57 Chouly, Lee Byrne, Julien Bonnaire, Napolioni Nalaga and a penalty try adding to Sitiveni Sivivatu's first-half score. The Scarlets enjoyed the perfect start as Davies crossed for the game's opening try with just five minutes played. The much-vaunted Scarlets back line did the damage, with strong handling from Wales stars George North, Scott Williams and Priestland providing the platform for Davies to step inside two tackles on his way to the line.
Priestland converted to hand the Scarlets a 7-0 lead but Parra, who finished with 17 points, cut the deficit with a penalty after Scarlets captain Rob McCusker held Clermont skipper Aurelien Rougerie to the floor off the ball just over a minute later. Stoddart received his first yellow card for a cynical offside on the quarter-hour mark and Parra made him pay for his indiscretion by slotting the straightforward penalty. The visitors survived Stoddart's first 10 minutes in the sin bin and+57 actually led by an even greater margin by the time he returned as Priestland slotted a 20th-minute penalty and a 22nd-minute drop goal. Sivivatu's converted try levelled things up on 31 minutes as the former New Zealand wing combined with Parra after the scrum-half took a clever inside ball from a lineout close to halfway.
But the match turned three minutes before the break as Stoddart saw yellow for the second time after more individual brilliance from Sivivatu. Stoddart was penalised for failing to roll away after making a tackle just yards from his own line and referee Peter Fitzgibbon followed the yellow card with a red.
Parra's penalty handed Clermont a 16-13 lead at the interval and they increased that advantage just after the sides returned courtesy of a penalty try. Nathan Hines' charge-down of+57 Priestland's clearance provided the initial platform and the pack did the rest by forcing the Scarlets' front row to buckle under pressure.
Clermont effectively put the game to bed after Priestland had kicked another penalty as Lee Byrne touched down against his old club on 48 minutes. Again, Sivivatu provided the telling contribution as his wrap-around pass saw the Wales and Lions full back race down the right touchline.
Parra's fine form with the boot continued as he added the extras and Clermont were celebrating the bonus-point with 25 minutes still left to play when number eight Damien Chouly powered over from close range. The Scarlets refused to lie down but further scores from Bonnaire and Nalaga added an even greater gloss to Clermont's winning margin.W Sivivatu
+57
Do the statistics for the match give us any clues as to what we might expect?
6 (1 penalty try) Tries 1
5 from 6 Conversion goals 1 from 1
3 from 4 Penalty goals 2 from 2
80.0% Kick at goal success 100.0%
0 Dropped goals 1
Kick/pass/run
13 Kicks from hand 19
135 Passes 106
115 Runs 71
565 Metres run with ball 192
Attacking
54% Possession 46%
53% Territory 47%+57
7 Clean breaks 2
19 Defenders beaten 9
18 Offloads 5
63 from 66 (95.5%) Rucks won 58 from 62 (93.5%)
3 from 4 (75.0%) Mauls won 2 from 3 (66.7%)
13 Turnovers conceded 5
Defensive
65/9 Tackles made/missed 90/17
87.8% Tackling success rate 84.1%
Set pieces
6 won, 0 lost (100.0%) Scrums on own feed 4 won, 2 lost (66.7%)
11 won, 0 lost (100.0%) Lineouts on own throw 10 won, 3 lost (76.9%)
Discipline
11 Penalties conceded 15W Sivivatu
0/0 Yellow/red cards 1/1
It's difficult to read too much into these at the best of times, but even harder when for over half the match the contest was a 15 vs 14 tussle. Clearly the set piece is a solid and well-functioning one, but there are a fair few missed tackles in there for a side with a man advantage for 43 minutes. Unsurprisingly too, there was a lot of running with the ball as the gaps opened up, and a sharp offloading game too, but the number of turnovers conceded by the French outfit will be giving Kiwi coach, Vern Cotter, some cause for concern.
A back three of Byrne, Sivivatu and Nalaga has attacking prowess writ large all over it. The French midfield pairing of youngster Fofana and club stalwart and leader Aurelien Rougerie are a hugely creative combination, and the halfback pairing aren't too shabby either! Domingo at loosehead reminds me a lot of Ian 'Mighty Mouse' McLachlan, small in stature but with such great technique, while on the other side of the scrum, Georgian international Zirakashvili is no slouch either. The second row pairing of Cudmore and Hines is tough and uncompromising, while in the backrow, expect Chouly to do much of the carrying, with Bonnaire the jackal, and Vosloo the chopper. The bench shows some young, emerging talent in the likes of Paulo, Debaty and Kotze, combined with experienced heads like Julien Pierre, Elvis Vermeulen, David Skrela and Kiwi Benson Stanley.
Again, this is yet another huge fixture for Exeter Rugby Club, and all we can do is ask the boys to give it their all as they always do. Whether our French visitors click or not is simply beyond our control, but there will be 23 players in pink (not to mention coaching staff, back room folks and the rest of the squad) who will be doing their best to ensure that the otter's whisker is on the other side this Saturday.
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17/10/2012 21:33
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Time for a pipe of Old Toby!
It's 12 boys from the championship vrs best part of 15 internationals (again)
Exeter Chiefs - living the dream!
Thoughts are like arrows: once released , they strike their mark. Guard them well or one day you may be your own victim
[translate.google.com]
[translate.google.com]
There's mention of sending in the fighter aircraft and panzer tanks, so I guess they're not underestimating us (though it'll mess up the Sandy Park turf)
then to celebrate our win. A curry 
Certain things catch your eye,
But pursue only those
that capture your heart.
old indian saying
Quote:Culm Valley Chief
The random and oddly translated thoughts of the Clermont fans:
[translate.google.com]
There's mention of sending in the fighter aircraft and panzer tanks, so I guess they're not underestimating us (though it'll mess up the Sandy Park turf)
Had a look through some of the comments on their forum and I particularly liked this one:
Everyone is laughing at me, but I maintain that we must take into account the dimension "supporters" Chiefs who Oumpah Oumpah ha ha ha by banging on drums!
I think our secret is out! Just wait till they hear the Oumpah Oumpah He knocked it on song!
Interesting how many of their results have been very tight.....another nail biter in store at sandy park !!!!!
How to ignore the cries of war, these songs profane, violent these fans are eating bones, they are better axes to cut the viandasse and better dismember ..
Clermont will be butchered on the spot attention the "houmpa houmpa ha ha ha" ..
I smell fear.
