Mike Greenaway
For years the Clermont Auvergne rugby team was regarded as the unluckiest team in French rugby history.
The Sharks’ opponents in Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final at one point had lost 10 finals in a row in the French Top 14 competition before breaking the unlucky run in part thanks to a lucky charm from South Africa. Springbok captain John Smit played for Clermont in 2009 and 2010, the years Clermont finally won the trophy.
The club has come a long way since it was formed early in the 20th century to represent the Michelin tyre company that has had a factory in Montferrand since 1889. Marcel Michelin, the son of the tyre giants started the club and they were originally called AS Michelin before having to change their name because of legal issues.
To this day, they play in yellow and blue, which are the traditional colours of Michelin, and they play their home matches at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
Clermont’s rich experience in the Challenge and Champions Cups is significant to the Sharks this week. They were runners-up in the Champions Cup in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and have won the Challenge Cup three times: in 1999, 2007 and 2019.
The French team knows how to win Challenge Cup matches but perhaps more ominous is their current form in the Top 14. They had a slow start to the tournament but they smashed log leaders Stade Francais 41-18 at the weekend.
Their formidable pack is their strength. They have a sprinkling of France World Cup players and a host of experienced internationals, including the rugged Argentina pair Marcus Kremer and Tomas Lavinini. They also have a pair of giant Georgians in their tight five as well as the Wallaby hooker Folau Fainga’a.
No wonder Sharks coach John Plumtree has been saying that a strong set piece is non-negotiable on Saturday at The Stoop.
“Our set piece has to function well, we know how important that is going to be. And it went well against the Scarlets. We were able to put some nice pressure on them in both the scrums and the line-outs.”
The team Plumtree picked for the URC game in Llanelli was close to the side the will field against Clermont but there will be two important differences, one good, one not so good.
🇿🇦CALLING ALL SA RUGBY FANS🇿🇦
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) April 23, 2024
On the 4th of May, the Hollywoodbets Sharks are taking over the Twickenham Stoop as they host ASM Clermont Auvergne in a ‘home’ semi-final clash in their battle to win the Challenge Cup.
Let’s get South Africa behind them!
Let’s give them the home… pic.twitter.com/N0p3WKQCcH
The positive is that Bongi Mbonambi is over a shoulder injury that kept him out of the URC matches against Glasgow and the Scarlets and he will play against Clermont. The Bok hooker’s inclusion is a big boost for the set pieces.
But the drawback from the Scarlets game is an injury to scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who is unlikely to play this week. The Sharks have another Springbok in Grant Williams, of course, but it was a trump card for the Sharks to have the tactical skills of Hendrikse for 50 minutes followed by the game-breaking skills of Williams when the game loosened up in the last half an hour.
Plumtree added that defence and discipline are the other two things the Sharks have to get right.
“We are down to around eight penalties a game, which is good, and our defence has been good on this tour apart from a few soft moments.
“If we get those things right, we will be tough to beat.”