Pool Five/Clermont 37 Wasps 27:Such are the priorities in French rugby, where the championship is everything, that Clermont will probably bring a second XV to England next weekend for the return leg of the double-header that could decide whether the European champions survive to the knockout stages.
Vern Cotter, coach of Clermont, said as much on Saturday after his first string had fought tooth and nail to deny Wasps the losing bonus point they had in the bag until the sixth minute of injury time. The New Zealander said he would not subject his men to two games of "such intensity" within a week - shorthand for meaning the leaders of the French Top 14, Toulouse, play here a week later and a home win would put Clermont joint top.
To comprehend such myopia one has to understand despite the Michelin millions invested over the years, Clermont have never won the title. Last year they got to the final day as leaders, but for the eighth time left the play-off empty- handed. And Cotter has form in this regard: after a five-try drubbing of Llanelli in the opening round, he made 13 changes for the trip to Limerick and lost 36-13 to Munster.
However, when he picks his team on Thursday it will at least switch the focus from the other subject left simmering on Saturday: the Mario Ledesma "try" David McHugh awarded after two minutes reviewing television footage that seemed to suggest the Argentina hooker grounded the ball on a Wasps boot and that the Wasps full-back, Mark van Gisbergen, was first to the loose ball. "We were watching it and no way," said Ian McGeechan, Wasps' director of rugby, when asked about the video referee's decision . "There is no way it was a try, but after two minutes it suddenly was."
Try or no try, thanks to Ledesma's points - and he was the most influential player on the field - Clermont went to the interval 20-10 up after Pierre Mignoni proved again his brain works twice as fast as the average scrumhalf's. He spotted a lack of numbers from the normally oppressive Wasps defence and Brock James and Marius Joubert combined to put the rapid Julien Malzieu in at the corner.
James Haskell replied with a try for Wasps, shaking off a poor tackle, but the European champions looked distinctly second best until two tries of their own to open the second half. Wasps marched downfield in the first minute for Tim Payne to find a hole despite half the Clermont defence being offside and John Hart created Haskell's second with a clever back-hand 11 minutes later.
Danny Cipriani's conversion gave Wasps the lead for the first time, but it was the other kicker, James, who laid the foundations for Clermont's win with four successive penalties through the swirling wind, which took them to 32-24. Cipriani landed a penalty from 43 metres but then Ledesma popped up again.
Looking for the try and a possible win, Lawrence Dallaglio opted to kick away a penalty, but tripped in the lineout. Ledesma hacked on and then was the only one to spot the ball squirm from the side of the ensuing ruck. His flick to James left Aurélien Rougerie, the Clermont captain, with a run to the corner chased by the Wasps captain.
In a pool so tight that four wins could be enough, that lost bonus point might prove crucial. "There's no point crying about it because it didn't happen," said Dallaglio. "On reflection that might prove (important) and when it's taken away from you in the last minute it's more painful. But they didn't get one (bonus point) either and we'll try to get it back next week."
John Smit, the South Africa captain currently playing second fiddle to Ledesma, is likely to start then, alongside another World Cup star in Vilimoni Delasau of Fiji along with Alex King, who won two European Cups with Wasps before moving to France in the summer and got on as a replacement on Saturday. "If there's one game Alex probably did want to start it's that one," said Dallaglio. "They had a pretty fired-up Wasps this week, they'll have a very fired-up Wasps next week."
However, they may be without the England captain, Phil Vickery: he left France with a damaged elbow and the citing official may also refer what appeared to be a stamp on Thibaut Privat's knee.
CLERMONT AUVERGNE: Floch; Rougerie (capt), Joubert, Canale, Malzieu; James, Mignoni; Emmanuelli, Ledesma, Scelzo, Cudmore, Privat, Bonnaire, Broomhall, Vermeulen. Replacements: Baby for Canale (33 mins), Audebert for Broomhall (37 mins), King for Floch (56 mins), Domingo for Emmanueilli (57 mins), Samson for Cudmore (60 mins), Lozupone for Privat (77 mins).
WASPS: Van Gisbergen; Sackey, Waters, Flutey, Voyce; Cipriani, Reddan; Payne, Ibanez, Vickery, Shaw, Skivington, Hart, Haskell, Dallaglio (capt). Replacement: Rees for Hart (53 mins), Lewsey Sackey (58 mins), Amor for Reddan (81 mins).
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland).
