Clermont Auvergne are appearing in their fourth successive European Cup semi-final and have made winning a competition that has so far eluded them a priority. Standing in their way of a place in next month’s final at Twickenham are the club they faced at this stage last year, Saracens, who humbled them 46-6 at the home of English rugby.
It was a seismic defeat for Clermont, whose season fell apart: they lost a long-standing home record in the Top 14 play-offs and ended the campaign, the last with Vern Cotter in charge before the New Zealander head coach left to take charge of Scotland, with nothing. Revenge is on the menu at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on Saturday.
“It is a home from home for us,” says the Clermont and former Leicester hooker, Benjamin Kayser. “The defeat to Saracens last year is still a sore point, but we said at the start of the season that it was a clean slate for us. The past is behind us and we have played them twice since then, losing away and winning at home. This time it is all about making the final and achieving our goal of winning the European Cup.”
Clermont earned their place in the last four by thrashing the Premiership champions and leaders Northampton last weekend, a match in which the former Bath full-back Nick Abendanon stood out. “I am not surprised at how well he has done with us because I remember him from my time in the Premiership,” Kayser says. “He has immersed himself in the culture of the area and if England do not pick him for the World Cup, that will be great for France.”
The Top 14 is providing half the semi-finalists, again offering a contrast between the club and international game in France. Kayser was on the bench for Les Bleus in the Six Nations, scoring a try against England at Twickenham in the defeat that left his team fourth in the final table, and believes they will be a force in the World Cup. “The quality of the French side is revealed within the clubs,” he says. “We will have time to prepare for the World Cup and show how good we are. That will make a big difference, but first there is the rest of the season and getting the better of a very good Saracens team on Saturday.”
Neither Saracens nor Clermont have lifted the European Cup, in contrast to the other semi-finalists, Toulon and Leinster, who meet in Marseille a week on Sunday with the former winning the last two tournaments and the latter claiming the trophy in the previous two.
“The season has been a bit of a slog but we are gaining some momentum,” says Mako Vunipola, Saracens’ England prop. “Things went well for us against Clermont a year ago, but that was then and now they have a new coach and some new players. Winning against Racing Métro in the quarter-final was tough, but we are a squad that prides itself on being good friends on and off the pitch. That culture is coming through now; everybody is fighting for every extra inch for each other.”
