Strettle warns Chiefs: Clermont won’t make same mistakes
DAVID Strettle says that the brain-fade that cost Clermont a place in the quarter-finals of last season’s European Cup – and ushered Exeter through in their place – will not happen again. The former England wing, whose pin-sharp finishing has rapidly made him a crowd favourite at the Stade Marcel Michelin after joining Clermont from Saracens last season, also warns that the French side will not make the mistake of underestimating the Chiefs again.
Strettle says that on Clermont’s last visit to Sandy Park they were too complacent. And he warns that when the Chiefs face the Top 14 league leaders in Devon today they will be on their mettle.
“Last year our 34-14 defeat at Sandy Park was an eye-opener because some of the Clermont players didn’t respect Exeter like they would playing away at Toulouse, Wasps or Leinster. There won’t be that mistake this year.”
Strettle says that the desire to win the European Cup burns deep at Clermont after losing two finals to Toulon by the finest of margins (2013, 2015). “It’s massive. The buzz in the stadium is even bigger in the European Cup, and the whole town comes to life on big match days.”
However, he reflects that Clermont have some ghosts to lay to rest, in the same way that Saracens have succeeded in doing since Strettle was part of the side which also lost to Toulon in the 2014 final. “I know from having played for Saracens when we lost that European Cup final that it is hard to put behind you.”
He says that the hangover was evident in the last knockings of a pool in which, had Morgan Parra kicked a last minute penalty from straight in front of the posts to give Clermont a losing bonus point against Bordeaux, they would have qualified for the last eight at Exeter’s expense. Instead the French scrum-half went for the quick tap...
“I’ve never been involved in such a strange outgoing in the pool stage of any tournament. We were just one kick away from winning the pool, but we ended up in last place. We knew we had to win with a four-try bonus point, but in the heat of the moment Morgan didn’t realise we could lose the game yet still get a bonus point to win the pool if we kicked that penalty against Bordeaux.
“We were right in front of the goal line under their posts, and it was try-line fever.
“You can imagine the disappointment…in the end we finished on 15 points, and the others had 16, but if we’d kicked the bonus point to level it we had more tries and the best points differential. I was on the bench at that stage, and all of us were struggling to work it out. However, all the variations should really have been considered beforehand.”
Strettle concludes: “We left the bonus point out there in every game – we didn’t manage that very well – and we had lots of opportunities not to be in that position. The biggest frustration was that we only have ourselves to blame.”
As for the Chiefs, who failed to make the semi-finals by a whisker after a humdinger of a quarterfinal against Wasps, he has only praise.
“They’re brilliant. Last season no one pulled together as a team in Europe more than Exeter. It’s the culture down there. Often you can only define it if people outside the club can see it too, and with the Chiefs we could see it in the way they all worked for each other when we played them in the rain at Sandy Park. They grew in belief, while we played like 15 individuals, and they won comfortably.”
However, Strettle does not skip what happened in the return leg:
“When they came to Clermont they expected the same from us. However, by that time we had pulled together, and played as a team, and blew them away 42-10. If you go behind at the Marcel Michelin it’s not easy to get back.” Ask Strettle about Clermont’s ability to cut opponents to shreds with brilliant waves of counter-attacking running, or his own impressive strike rate – four tries so far this season and nine last season, making him the fourth highest try scorer in the Top 14 -- and he points to the contribution of Nick Abendanon. There is a definite English élan about the Clermont back three since Strettle joined forces with the former Bath and England full-back, and he explains what underpins it: “I’ve been a great admir-
“It’s the team that pulls together best as a unit that will come through in Europe”
er of Nicer since we played together or the Saxons, and e England squad. He can create an opening in a flash, but he doesn’t look to do himself, and because he always carries the ball in two hands he creates lots of opportunities for others.” He says three others in the Clermont backline who make him sit up and take notice are centre Wesley Fofana, former All Black utility back Isaiah Toeava, and veteran centre/wing Aurelien Rougerie
“Wesley Fofana has the Xfactor. He doesn’t look the biggest, but he has the strength to shake off tackles, and although he doesn’t look very fast, it’s deceptive. If you hesitate, he’s gone. Isaiah Toeava is like a Swiss Army knife, because can do everything.
possesses every skill you need to play in every position in the backline.
“He’s the kind of guy you definitely want in your team. Then there’s Aurelien Rougerie, our captain, who is 36 but plays every game with the same passion.”
Strettle, 33, talks with great enthusiasm about his move to France in a well-travelled club career, in which he not only won 14 England caps (20072013) -- impressing on his debut with a try and defensive courage in an otherwise limp England defeat in Dublin – but also played for the England Sevens side.
“Living in the Massif Central is great, and I’ve been very lucky. Every club I’ve played for, whether Rotherham, Harlequins or Saracens, I’ve enjoyed them all.
“The Stade Marcel Michelin is an unbelievable place to play, and a lot of the other rugby stadiums in France also have great atmosphere and colour, with whole towns getting behind their team.
“Here, and in places like Toulon, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Montpellier it’s like football is in England – the fans are all there because the team is the lifeblood of the city, and they all identify with it.”
He says: “I moved to Clermont because I wanted to experience as much in rugby as possible, and I’d definitely recommend it.
“I played in the Premiership for 11 years, but by the end there was so much of the same teams, same players, same kit, same grounds every season, whereas playing in a different country with a different cul“ ture it’s all new. In France rugby is done differently, whether it’s aspects of playing, training or living, and with it there are great highs – as well as some frustrations. I loved my time at Sarries, but I went to Clermont for new experiences, and that’s what it’s been.”
Strettle says also that he had no regrets about seeing Saracens win the double the season after he left:
“I thought there might have been mixed feelings churning away, but the nicest thing for me was that I was truly happy for the boys.
“I was at the club for five years and have a lot of friends there, and was pleased that the journey we were on ended with such success. We were there or thereabouts for a number of seasons, and it is great that all the hard work put in by all the players and the coaches over that time paid off.”
He says that Saracens will be difficult to beat – “If you’ve won the title and the team has not changed you should rightly be seen as favourites” -– but that the squad strength of big French clubs like Clermont, Racing, Toulon and Montpellier will make it tough.
He adds: “It’s the team that pulls together best as a unit that will come through in Europe – and in the French league that does not always happen until the last third of the season.”
Ask Strettle if Clermont fit that description and his response is succinct: “We definitely have the equipment to win it”.
However, he and his Clermont team-mates know from recent experience that the examination they face at Exeter will be extremely thorough.