Clermont concedes a cruel defeat against the Sharks in the semi-final

The Auvergnats lost against a more disciplined and efficient South African team, at the end of a tight encounter.

Clermont does not save its season. The Jaunards were beaten by the Sharks in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup (32-31), Saturday May 4, at the Twickenham Stoop stadium in London, the home of the Harlequins borrowed for the occasion. Already struggling in the Top 14, tenth and out of the race for the final stages, the ASM players are abandoning their hopes of a European title in a competition that they have won three times (1999, 2007, 2019).

At the end of a match which kept all its promises between the two best attacks in the competition, Clermont came close to a prestigious success over a South African team led by seven reigning world champions, including the entire first line (Nche, Mbonambi, Koch).

Clermont penalized and punished

The Clermont back line, reduced by two frames (George Moala and Alivereti Raka), nevertheless worked wonders in the first period, well supported by a very active and dominant first line in the scrum, like the Georgian pillar Giorgi Beria.

But the Clermontois were as fair offensively as they were undisciplined defensively in the first act, offering six dangerous penalties to their opponents, converted into points by the infallible scorer Siya Masuku, author of 27 points on Saturday (100% success). Under the eyes of Siya Kolisi, captain of South Africa and Racing 92 player who came to see his teammates in the selection, the Sharks were only ten points behind at the break (28-18).

“With the indiscipline of the first half, we are in front, but we should not have taken 18 because we were never in danger”, confided the hooker Etienne Fourcade to the microphone of France 3, after the meeting. The Sharks actually waited until the hour mark to score their first try through Vincent Koch, before winger Makazole Mapimpi gave the South Africans the decisive advantage.

The ASM players, long confident of their strength with the ball in hand and solid on the tackles, gave in at the end of the match. Leaving their opponents in the match by conceding twice as many penalties despite a fairly clear domination (60% occupancy and three tries to zero in the first period), the Jaunards lacked energy at the end of the match.

Flying half Anthony Belleau, who made all the good moves in the first half, illustrated the helplessness of his team in the second act. At the origin of the first try by Joris Jurand (6th) on a daring launch of play in his camp, the ASM opener then offered a caviar to his winger, diagonally at the foot (21st), before to throw full-back Alex Newsome into the goal at the end of a nice combination (31st). But he was much less inspired in the second half, returning too many balls through haste, like the last ammunition he sent into touch.

“We had a very good first half, but we fell back into our ways a bit in the second half by letting them play”, lamented pillar Rabah Slimani after the match. The Sharks are in their first final since their integration into European competitions, and will face the Italians from Benetton Treviso or the English from Gloucester.