Rugby: Clermont sacks Gibbs and waits for Oreos

It was too much slap. It swept its stadium against Leicester on Friday evening during the third day of the European Championship (29-44), its fourth defeat in five matches in all competitions, and Clermont decided to dismiss its manager, Jono Gibbs, on Monday morning, who arrived there. Nineteen months to take over from a great Frank. The 45-year-old New Zealander has had a poor run of results since the start of the season.

Auvergne Club, Who will Damien Benaud lose, leaving for the Purdue Beagle next season, Today only finished 10th in the top 14 after 15 days (6 wins, 1 draw, 8 losses) and started very poorly in the Champions Cup (2 losses in three days). Jono Gibbs, who arrived at Clermont from La Rochelle in the summer of 2021, has signed a contract until 2024. Their boss called on Monday morning at 7:30, warning the players they were going to South Africa. South where they will take on the Stormers on Saturday without their head coach.

A press release followed. “This choice to change is part of a context in which the ambitions still displayed by the club require it to take new directions, as ASM defines. As far as the future is concerned, decisions will be announced quickly to ensure the continuity of the sporting project and to restore a positive dynamic for the entire club, its partners and supporters. »

Among the most likely options is the arrival of the rope-wielding Christophe Aureus. The former manager of Castres, French champion with Tarnier in 2018, was fired last November from Bordeaux Pegliese. Which he managed since 2019 and led to the semi-finals of the Top 14 (2021, 2022) and the European Cup (2021), after a series of poor results this season. His relationship with his players had deteriorated in recent months, especially with international fly-half Mathieu Jalibert. Christophe Orius will find in Auvergne a challenge commensurate with his ambitions.

Shortly after leaving Bordeaux, Aureus told La Montagne: “Rugby is over for the moment but it’s just a break. I need to ask myself, make an assessment and know what I really want to do. Where, how and with whom. I’m moving with the beat of my heart.”