ASM Clermont Auvergne
Clermont is a works team that grew into one of the biggest clubs in French rugby. Founded by the Michelin family, they lost ten French championship finals before finally lifting the Bouclier de Brennus in 2010, and they have filled the Stade Marcel-Michelin in yellow and blue ever since.
A Michelin Club from Montferrand
Marcel Michelin, son of André Michelin of the tyre company, founded the club on 11 October 1911 as AS Michelin. It became AS Montferrandaise in 1922, after the old town of Montferrand that is now part of Clermont-Ferrand, and the rugby section took the name ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004. The ground still carries the founder’s name.
Before the first Brennus came the near misses. Montferrand lost finals in 1936, 1937, 1970, 1978, 1994, 1999 and 2001, and Clermont then lost three in a row: 23–18 to Stade Français in 2007, 26–20 to Toulouse in 2008 and 22–13 to Perpignan in 2009. Along the way they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1938, 1976 and 1986, and the European Challenge Cup in 1999.
2010 and 2017
The wait ended in 2010. Clermont beat Perpignan 19–6, the team that had beaten them the year before, to take the first French title in the club’s history. The second followed in 2017 with a 22–16 win over Toulon. In between and after, there were more final defeats: in the Top 14 in 2015, and 24–18 to Toulouse at the Stade de France in 2019. Europe has been just as cruel. Clermont reached three Champions Cup finals and lost them all: 16–15 to Toulon in 2013, 24–18 to Toulon in 2015 and 28–17 to Saracens in 2017. The Challenge Cup came back to Clermont in 2007 and 2019.
Urios Chasing the Top Six
Christophe Urios is head coach, with his contract extended to 2027, and scrum-half Baptiste Jauneau is captain. Clermont finished seventh in the 2025–26 Top 14 with 71 points, winning five of their last six games but missing the play-offs. The aim for 2026–27 is a top-six finish, with Australian lock Darcy Swain and New Zealanders Etene Nanai-Seturo and AJ Lam among the new arrivals.
The start has been mixed. They lost 40–36 at Lyon on the opening day, beat Stade Français 25–16 and Castres 20–6 at home, and lost at Bayonne and La Rochelle. On 10 October Bordeaux-Bègles won 23–22 at the Michelin, and a week later Leinster won 48–23 there in the Champions Cup.
Aurélien Rougerie
Yellow and Blue
Clermont’s yellow and blue are Michelin’s colours, which the company took from Montferrand when it was founded there in 1889. Yellow is the home colour, which is where the Jaunards nickname comes from, and the club and its fans also go by La Yellow Army. The Stade Marcel-Michelin, nicknamed the Bib Park after the Michelin Man, holds around 19,000.
This FanFile covers ASM Clermont Auvergne as a club rather than one particular jersey. Check the crest, sponsor, manufacturer label and product code on your own shirt to identify its specific season and edition.
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