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HEC SF: Clermont Auvergne vs Leinster; Sunday 29 April, KO 1600(CET); Live Sky Sports
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I'm sure they feel the same. They must be sick of the sight of the Leinster side after 3 years on the trot. But that weekend was nothing short of epic. I can't see the march on the stadium ever being topped for me. It was just one big carnival. And watching Will Greenwood jumping up and down singing his lungs out with a bunch of the Clermont fans in the Connemara was very amusing. Not sure I could handle another game like it, but another weekend like it? Definitely. Have already arranged to meet up with a few of the Clermont lads in Twickenham too. Naturally they'll be cheering for Leinster!
Yeah, gonna be half dressed in my Clermont gear I swapped for at Twickers...
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I got back from Bordeaux on Monday, and only got through reading this thread now. My 2c on the match...
First off, I just have to mention to those unfortunate enough not to make it to Bordeaux that the experience of marching to Stade Chaban with the rest of the fans was one of the best experiences I've ever had as a Rugby fan.
Whilst you may have heard constant boo'ing on the TV from Clermont fans, let me tell you that they are the furthest thing from hostile, or bad sports. It's just their way, they like to use the advantage of having 30,000 fans there to try and influence decisions. And so they should. Home advantage is home advantage.
Arriving at the stadium we were greeted by thousands of Clermont fans of all ages, we were treated like some sort of liberating army - they shook our hands, hugged us, kissed us, sang with us, gave us free wine and food. It was bizarre yet amazingly welcoming at the same time. They even made a banner in Irish to welcome us. The atmosphere around the ground itself was unbelievable, it was like a festival or something, brass bands on every corner, plenty of wine and beer, the sun was shining... Amazing experience, I won't forget it anytime soon.
As for the match itself, well the intensity at the match itself was something to behold. Aside from the Clermont fans being their noisy selves, we were in full song and it may as well have been a terrace, it was that kind of atmosphere - totally rammed, barely enough space to sit down so we stood for most of it, chanting and singing and waving flags... So analyzing the match real time wasn't the easiest thing to do. When we saw the replay of the Fofana knock on at the end I swear we celebrated like wild monkeys, the place went off big time.
I re-watched the match last night, and have to say, the whole Barnes 'gifting' us the game couldn't be further from the truth. I agree we were lucky in several respect - I think Leo's punch was barely that, he just tried to shove the player off because he was being held off the ball. Watching it again, that was right infront of us, and a lot of the Clermont players were up to all sorts of dirty tricks before it blew up. So in one respect Leo was lucky not to get a card for it, but in another sense the Clermont players were lucky not to get yellows for the amount of infringements.
The only yellows I thought Leinster deserved was Darce's cynical kicking of the ball offside, and Jamie's pulling at the line out.
However, in nearly every ruck we had to deal with two 18 stone locks lying on the wrong side of the ruck over the ball. How Cudmore and Hines didn't get yellows amazed me, after watching the game again from a more relaxed, analytical point of view I can definitely say that Clermont were just as lucky with ref as we were.
There was elements of luck that helped and hindered both teams. The Fofana knock on, the unlucky bounce for Isa, the missed infringements and niggily scraps from both sides.
IIRC the penalty count was 13-12 to Leinster. It doesn't get more tight than that. If Barnes did us a favour, then he did a favour equally to Clermont. A different ref might've yielded a different result, having said that the teams might've approached the game in a different manner with a different ref so we will never know I guess.
One thing is for sure, Leinster were the better team, and luck didn't win them the game. The first half they struggled with the set pieces, but looked dangerous anyway. In the second half the pack found their footing and the Healy try came straight off the training paddock, no luck involved just good play. Same with the Kearney's DG, it was a beaut. After that spell of points Leinster turned the screw and dominated the game.
They only have themselves for blame for giving away those cheap penalties and free kicks at the end, but Clermont should've never been let near that try line.
I think Barnes got a little lost in the occasion at the end mind you. The SOB turn over won us the game. Yet, wasn't it penalty advantage? It was a strange one, but looking at it again, I think Barnes spotted several things from the Clermont pack and wasn't happy with his initial decision to award the penalty from the 5m scrum. The Clermont pack wheeled it and bore in from the side, it was completely illegal, but Barnes just saw blue shirts on the deck and called it without thinking.
Then there was the assault on Leo, something tells me Barnes caught that from the corner of his eye and just decided that he had a better view of it he would be reversing the penalty... He then looked for any excuse to give Leinster a pen. SOB got his hands on the ball and that was enough. You can see James running up to Barnes and Barnes won't even look him in the eye, he just tells him to go away and doesn't explain the penalty advantage being lost... but my guess is Barnes was awarding Leinster for the many infringements at the ruck in the previous phase by Clermont.
So, all in all, a tough, epic battle on both sides. Not champagne rugby, but not a far cry from international test rugby when the stakes are high. Both sides had their fair share of dodgy calls, and for me that cancelled each other out.
At the end of the day Leinster were the better team and managed to turn the screw after completing a fantastic move that lead to a try. That is all that separated these two great teams.
But I can see the Clermont players being grieved by certain decisions, and god help Leinster if they meet them again next year.
On an interesting side note, we gave the Clermont fans a standing ovation when they did their lap after the match, and the look on their faces was brilliant. They seemed genuinely surprised and amazed at the support from the away fans at the end of the match, so much so they turned and applauded us. That'll always stuck out in my memory, especially the look on Rougerie and Hines' faces.
Absolutely epic day, and an epic weekend. Bumped into the Skysports gang straight after the match back in the Connemara pub.. so that probably explains why they cut it so early!
That's it I'm going to see them next season whether it be in the top 14 or Hcup. Great post, made me very jealous!.0 -
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