Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club from

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French champions in 2009-10 and

2016-17 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first con ...

. The rugby section is a part of a multi-sport club called AS Montferrand (also known as ASM Omnisports), which was founded in 1911 and adopted that name in 1919. Although the rugby section changed its name to the current ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004, it is still frequently referred to as Montferrand both within and outside France. The team play at the 19,022-seat

Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin The Stade Marcel-Michelin is a sports ground in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It has been the home of the French rugby union club ASM Clermont-Auvergne since its opening in 1911. The stadium takes its name from the founder of the ''Association Spor ...

, also known by its nickname, The Bib Park. Clermont wear yellow and blue, the colours of the French tyre manufacturer Michelin, taken from the colours of Montferrand when the firm was created there in 1889. The city is where Marcel Michelin, the son of the founder of the French tyre manufacturer, decided to implement the first factory but also the stadium after the creation of ASM for its workers before World War I. ''L'ASM'', as they are also called, have reached the French Championship final thirteen times, losing on each occasion until their eleventh trip in 2010, when they won the championship in their 100th year as a club.

History

Amateur era

The club was established in 1911 as AS Michelin, though they changed their name to AS Montferrandaise in 1919 due to legal obligation. The club was started by Marcel Michelin, the son of

André Michelin André Jules Michelin (16 January 1853 – 4 April 1931) was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (''Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin'') in 1888 in the French ...

, the founder of the Michelin tyre manufacturer. He died in deportation at Buchenwald; he had been deported there as a member of the Resistance and was involved in two successful escape attempts before dying during the third. The club made its first final of any competition in 1935, where they played Perpignan for the

Challenge Yves du Manoir The Challenge Yves du Manoir was a rugby union club competition that was played in France between 1931 and 2003 under different names. It is named after former player Yves du Manoir. History The Challenge Yves du Manoir was officially created on ...

. AS Montferrand lost the match, 3–3 and 9–0. The following year they featured in their first championship final; though they lost to

RC Narbonne R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...

6 points to 3. They made the final again in 1937, though that match was also lost, 13 points to 7 to

CS Vienne CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

. The following season the club won its first title; winning the Challenge Yves du Manoir by defeating Perpignan 23 points to 10. During the 1940s the club contested the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

on two occasions, in 1945 and 1947. The club lost on both occasions, by one point, 14 to 13 to

SU Agen Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, A ...

in 1945, and then 14 to 11 against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

in 1947. It would be another 10 years until the club featured in another competition final; losing to

US Dax Union sportive dacquoise, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Nationale, the third level of the French league system. They were founded in 1904. They play at Stade Maurice Boyau (capacity 16,170). They wear ...

in the 1957 Challenge Yves du Manoir. The club became a force during the 1970s, starting in 1970 with a 3 points to nil championship loss to

La Voulte Sportif LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. The club then contested the Challenge Yves du Manoir twice in a row over the 1972–73 seasons; losing both finals, against

AS Béziers As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...

and Narbonne respectively. Then they won the competition in 1976, defeating

SC Graulhet The Sporting club graulhetois, or SC Graulhet, is a rugby union French club based in Graulhet ( Tarn). Founded in 1910, it play in Fédérale 2, the fourth level of French rugby union. History Founded in 1910, played in the Pyrénées regional ch ...

40 points to 12 just a few days after the death of the young international winger, Jean-François Philiponeau, struck on the field during an exhibition game. The club then contested the championship final in 1978, though they lost to Béziers. They also lost the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1979, against Narbonne. In 1994 season the club contested both the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir. They lost the Challenge Yves du Manoir to Perpignan (the third time the clubs had met in the competition final). They also lost the championship, defeated 22 points to 16 by Toulouse.

Professional era

The club contested two finals in the 1999 season as well, the French championship and the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

. They won the European Challenge Cup, defeating fellow French club CS Bourgoin-Jallieu 35 points to 16 at the Stade Gerland in Lyon. However they lost the domestic final, being defeated by Toulouse again, 15 points to 11. The club would meet Toulouse again in the season final of 2001, with Toulouse winning 34 points to 22. In 2004 they contested the European Challenge Cup again, though they lost to English club Harlequins, by one point, 27 to 26 at the last minute. The team experienced a hard period between 2002 and 2006 and it was only with the arrival of Vern Cotter, in the middle of 2006, that the team's form began to improve. In Vern Cotter's first year as head coach, Clermont reached their first final since 2001 (which they lost in the last minute against Stade Français), and won the European Challenge Cup against Bath at the Twickenham Stoop. Montferrand developed further under Vern Cotter during the following two seasons, but they lose two more finals against Toulouse in 2008, and Perpignan in 2009. But the team continues to bounce back and perform well years of years. In 2010, in the Heineken Cup the team was drawn against Leicester Tigers and Ospreys in a tough pool. Despite this Montferrand succeeded in winning the pool and were subsequently drawn against the holders of the cup, Leinster Rugby. That was the beginning of what would become one of the greatest rivalries in rugby. In an epic battle, Montferrand lost 29–28. After this loss, they went on to win all of their remaining games to win the French championship against Perpignan (19–6) with a notably exceptional display during the semi-final against RC Toulon in Saint-Etienne. In 2012 they reached the semi-final of the Heineken Cup. They were beaten by Leinster Rugby and were inches from winning the game at the end but Wesley Fofana dropped the ball on Leinster's try line. Clermont reached the Heineken Cup final for the first time in 2013 after they beat

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster B ...

16–10 in the semi-final in Montpellier. They subsequently lost to Toulon in the HEC final which was held in Lansdowne Road in Dublin on 18 May 2013 by a single point (16–15). In 2014, Clermont reached the Heineken Cup semi-final of the play-offs for the second consecutive time and lost to Saracens. 2015 saw Clermont make it to the final of the European Cup (now European Rugby Champions Cup) but lost to

RC Toulon R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...

24–18. A few weeks later, they also lost the final of the French

against Stade Français 12–6. 2016 saw Clermont having their first blow in the European Rugby Champions Cup since 2011 by failing to make the quarter final after a late loss against Bordeaux at home. But they finally reached the French championship semi-final with a highly controversial lose against Racing 92. However, the team bounced back and produced during the season 2016-2017, reaching again two finals in the French Top 14 and European Champions Cup. They lost the European Cup against reigning champions Saracens. In January 2020, Clermont acquired a minority stake in the American rugby club

New Orleans Gold The New Orleans Gold, stylized as NOLA Gold, is a professional rugby union team based in New Orleans. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby. Since January 2020, Top 14, French rugby power ASM Clermont Auvergne has owned ...

. In addition to player exchanges, the teams will seek to facilitate cultural exchanges between the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and France.

Current standings

Honours

* European Rugby Champions Cup: ** Runners-up: 3 (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2015,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

) *

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

: ** Winners: 3 (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2007,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) ** Runners-up: 1 ( 2004) *

: ** Winners: 2 ( 2010,

) ** Runners-up: 12 (1936, 1937, 1970, 1978, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2009, 2015,

) *

: ** Winners: 3 (1938, 1976, 1986) ** Runners-up: 6 (1935, 1957, 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994) *

: ** Winners: 1 (2001) ** Runners-up: 2 (1945, 1947)

European results

Heineken Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup Finals

European Challenge Cup Finals

France results

French championship

Challenge Yves du Manoir

''* Note: by virtue of younger players''

Coupe de France

Current squad

The Clermont squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Espoirs squad

The ASM Clermont Auvergne Espoirs squad is:

Notable former players

* Alejandro Campos * Agustín Creevy *

Mario Ledesma Mario Ledesma Arocena (born 17 May 1973 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine rugby union coach and a former international rugby player. He played in Argentina's successful 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign and had a professional playing career in France s ...

* Gonzalo Longo * Martín Scelzo * Hernán Senillosa * Peter Betham * Pat Howard * Brock James *

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John Ulugia John Ulugia (born 17 January 1986), is an Australian rugby union player. He played for the ACT Brumbies as either a prop or hooker. In 2010, he shifted to play in the Sydney club rugby competition and was signed by the NSW Waratahs for the 20 ...

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* Jan Macháček *

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* Brian Ashton * Richard Cockerill * Rory Jennings * Alex King *

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* Vilimoni Delasau * Kini Murimurivalu * Napolioni Nalaga * David Attoub * Alexandre Audebert * Olivier Azam * Franck Azéma * Benoît Baby * Julien Bonnaire * David Bory * Michel Boucheron * Olivier Brouzet * Jean-Marcellin Buttin * Benoit Cabello * Charlie Cassang * Stéphane Castaignède * Raphaël Chanal * Raphaël Chaume * Damien Chouly * Arnaud Costes * Franck Comba * Vincent Debaty * Thomas Domingo * Michel Droitecourt * André Dubertrand * Laurent Emmanuelli * Sipili Falatea *

Lionel Faure Lionel Faure (born 26 November 1977 in France) is a rugby union player for ASM Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14. Faure plays as a Rugby union positions#1. Loosehead prop .26 3. Tighthead prop, Loosehead prop, and previously playe ...

Anthony Floch Anthony Floch (born 12 February 1983 in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme) is a French rugby union player, who normally plays at Fullback (rugby union), fullback. He currently plays for Montpellier Hérault RC, Montpellier in the Top 14. Top 14 ...

* Alessio Galasso * Camille Gerondeau * Loann Goujon *

Kevin Gourdon Kevin Gourdon (born 23 January 1990) is a former French rugby union player. He played as a flanker for French Top 14 side La Rochelle and the France national team. International career Gourdon made his debut for France in June 2016 and was par ...

Rémy Grosso Rémy Grosso (born 4 December 1988) is a former French professional rugby union player. He played at wing for ASM Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14. He was a late call up to the French squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, replacing the injured Yoann ...

* Loïc Jacquet * Christophe Juillet * Benjamin Kayser * Daniel Kotze * Thierry Lacrampe *

Rémi Lamerat Rémi Lamerat (; born 14 January 1990) is a French rugby union player. His position is centre and he currently plays for Bordeaux Bègles in the Top 14. He began his career with Stade Toulousain before moving to Castres in 2012, then onto Clerm ...

* Jean-Marc Lhermet * Camille Lopez * Olivier Magne * Julien Malzieu * Jimmy Marlu * Philippe Marocco * Tony Marsh * Gérald Merceron * Olivier Merle * Geoffroy Messina * Arnaud Mignardi * Pierre Mignoni * Noa Nakaitaci * Laurent Pardo * Morgan Parra * Alexandre Péclier * Julien Pierre * Adrien Planté * Lucas Pointud *

Bastien Pourailly Bastien Pourailly (born 31 January 1994) is a French rugby union player who plays for ASM Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14. His position is wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accor ...

Thibaut Privat Thibaut Privat (born 4 February 1979) is a former French international rugby union player. He played as a Lock for AS Béziers, Montferrand and Montpellier. He was called up as an injury replacement for Olivier Brouzet at the 2003 Rugby World ...

* Louis Puech * Ludovic Radosavljevic * Clément Ric * Jean-Pierre Romeu * Laurent Rodriguez * Aurélien Rougerie * Jacques Rougerie *

Philippe Saint-André Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but he ...

* Christophe Samson *

Enzo Sanga Enzo Sanga (born 19 May 1995) is a French rugby union footballer. He plays as a scrum-half. Born in Vichy, Enzo Sanga currently plays for Montpellier Herault RC in the Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition t ...

* Atila Septar * David Skrela *

Cédric Soulette Cédric Soulette (born 30 May 1972) is a French rugby union footballer. He currently plays for the AS Béziers club. In the past, he also played for Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Ga ...

Scott Spedding Scott Spedding (born 4 May 1986 in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a retired French rugby union player. His position is fullback and he last played for Castres Olympique in the Top 14. He retired in 2019. Spedding attended St. John's College, Jo ...

* Jérôme Thion *

Romain Taofifenua Romain may refer to: People Given name * Romain Bussine (1830–1899), French poet and voice professor * Romain Rolland (1866–1944), French writer * Romain de Tirtoff (1892–1990), French artist and designer known as Erté * Romain Bellenge ...

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* Sébastien Viars * Pierre Vigouroux *

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* Otar Giorgadze * Beka Kakabadze * Viktor Kolelishvili * Goderdzi Shvelidze * Davit Zirakashvili * Gonzalo Canale * Alessandro Troncon *

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* Sam Broomhall * Mike Delany * Zac Guildford * Joe Karam * Regan King *

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* Kevin Senio *

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* Benson Stanley * Isaia Toeava * Julien Bardy * Taylor Gontineac * Tasesa Lavea *

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* Ti'i Paulo *

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* John Senio * Gavin Williams *

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* Jason White * Nathan Hines * Selborne Boome *

Marius Joubert Marius Charl Joubert (born 10 July 1979 in Paarl, Western Cape) is a South African rugby union player who played as a centre for Stormers in Super Rugby. He has previously played for the Boland Cavaliers, Free State Cheetahs, ASM Clermont Au ...

* Breyton Paulse *

Brent Russell Robert Brent Russell (born 5 March 1980) is a South African retired professional rugby union player. He is a "Rugby union positions#Utility players, utility back" (capable of playing fullback, fly-half or wing) who plays for ASM Clermont Auvergn ...

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* Pierre-Emmanuel Garcia * Seti Kiole * Johnny Ngauamo * Kevin Dalzell * Jonathan Davies * Stephen Jones *

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References

External links

*
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Official website *
ASM Rugby supporters club web site
{{Authority control Clermont Clermont Sport in Clermont-Ferrand 1911 establishments in France