ASM Clermont Auvergne spent much of the 2025-26 season showing exactly why it remains dangerous — and exactly why it remains outside the Top 14’s leading group. Clermont finished seventh at 15-11, scoring 812 points and 103 tries but conceding 708 points.
There was enough attacking quality to suggest Clermont was capable of more. There also was enough inconsistency, particularly defensively, to explain why a team that won five of its final six matches still finished outside the top six.
Now Christophe Urios has a deeper squad, significant reinforcements and another season to push the club forward. Clermont doesn’t need to rediscover its ability to score. The defining question of 2026-27 is whether ASM can build enough defensive consistency around that attack to become a playoff team again.
What Clermont’s 2025-26 Season Told Us
Seventh place tells only part of Clermont’s story.
ASM went 15-11 and finished with a plus-104 point differential. Its 812 points and 103 tries demonstrated the potency of an attack capable of overwhelming opponents. Clermont earned eight try-bonus points and closed the season by winning five of its final six.
There were emphatic performances, including a 45-14 home victory over Perpignan. Clermont also went to Bordeaux on the final day and won 34-31, with Harry Plummer delivering a 76th-minute drop goal.
Yet the other side of Clermont was impossible to ignore.
A 41-13 home defeat to Racing 92 in Round 25 was the clearest late-season example of the volatility that prevented ASM from converting its attacking production into a playoff place. Clermont conceded 708 points and 87 tries across the season.
That combination — prolific scoring and unreliable resistance — explains seventh better than anything else.
Clermont proved it could hurt good teams. It did not prove it could control enough matches consistently.
Clermont Transfers And Offseason Changes
Clermont’s offseason appears designed to give Urios more physicality and depth without sacrificing the attacking ability already in the squad.
Darcy Swain arrives from the Western Force after earning 17 caps for Australia. Fellow lock Tevita Ratuva joins from Brive, adding another powerful second-row option.
The backline also receives significant reinforcements. AJ Lam arrives from the Blues, while Etene Nanai-Seturo joins from the Chiefs and gives Clermont another runner capable of exploiting space.
Baptiste Germain adds depth at scrum-half. Justin Bouraux arrives after scoring 253 points in Pro D2, strengthening the options behind Plummer at fly-half. Peniami Narisia adds another hooker, while young fly-half Tom Raffy joins on loan from Brive.
There are departures to absorb. Lucas Dessaigne and Thomas Ceyte moved to Montauban, while Giga Tutisani joined Valence Romans. Michael Ala’alatoa had left for Munster.
The overall balance, however, points toward greater depth, particularly at lock and across the backs.
Clermont also has maintained continuity under Urios while securing players including Baptiste Jauneau, Killian Tixeront, Barnabé Massa, Étienne Fourcade and Cristian Ojovan with contract extensions.
The squad looks better equipped to withstand a long season. The more important question is whether that added personnel improves Clermont’s weakest areas rather than simply making an already dangerous attack even deeper.
Clermont Projected Starting XV And Bench
This is a projection based on the available squad information, with reported or unconfirmed additions not treated as automatic starters.
Starting XVSacha LotrianBarnabé MassaGiorgi AkhaladzeTevita RatuvaDarcy SwainMarcos KremerKillian TixerontPita-Gus SowakulaBaptiste JauneauHarry PlummerAlivereti RakaAlivereti LoaloaLéon DarricarrèreBautista DelguyEtene Nanai-SeturoProjected Bench OptionsÉtienne FourcadeGiorgi DzmanashviliRégis MontagneThibaud LanenSelevasio Tolofua*Baptiste GermainJustin BourauxJoris Jurand
*Tolofua’s availability will depend on his recovery from a broken fibula. Cristian Ojovan also is recovering from a broken foot and is not included in this opening projection.
The most interesting selection questions may come in the pack. Swain and Ratuva give Clermont a potentially imposing new second-row combination, while the back row has several legitimate combinations available around Kremer, Tixeront and Sowakula.
The arrival of Nanai-Seturo creates another decision in an already dangerous back three. Clermont has Raka and Delguy on the wings, with Jurand among the alternatives.
Clermont Players To Watch In 2026-27Harry Plummer
Harry Plummer remains central to everything. He scored 295 points in 2025-26 and demonstrated his value under pressure with the match-winning drop goal at Bordeaux. Clermont’s ability to turn attacking possession into points runs through its fly-half.
Baptiste Jauneau
Baptiste Jauneau gives ASM a young scrum-half around whom it can continue building. His partnership with Plummer will be important to the speed and control of Clermont’s attack.
Darcy Swain
Darcy Swain could be one of the offseason additions who changes the team’s profile rather than simply adding depth. Clermont already could score. Swain’s value will be measured partly by whether his physicality and lineout presence help create a more dependable platform.
Etene Nanai-Seturo
Etene Nanai-Seturo adds another potentially explosive element. Clermont’s backline already had finishing ability, and his capacity to attack space gives Urios another weapon from the back.
Killian Tixeront
Killian Tixeront is worth following because Clermont’s progress cannot be entirely dependent upon imported experience. His place in a deep back-row group gives him an opportunity to become increasingly important to the team’s forward identity.
Clermont’s Young Players And Development Pipeline
Clermont has enough young talent to make development an important part of the larger project.
Kevin Noah, a 19-year-old back-row player, could push for additional opportunities, particularly around the breakdown. Raffy, 20, gives Clermont another developing option at fly-half, although Plummer and Bouraux create considerable competition there.
Mathys Belaubre is another player with an opportunity in midfield, while Jurand provides young depth at fullback.
Jauneau already occupies a much more prominent role at scrum-half.
The significance is not that all of these players must become immediate starters. Clermont’s challenge is building a squad capable of sustaining Top 14 contention, and developing its own young contributors can provide the depth required to do that.
How ASM Clermont Auvergne Plays
Clermont wants to attack.
The 103 tries from last season are the clearest evidence of a team comfortable creating and finishing scoring opportunities through multiple phases.
The forwards provide the initial platform. Kremer, Sowakula and Tixeront give Clermont carrying options in the back row, while the additions of Swain and Ratuva should increase the physical presence of the pack.
From there, Jauneau and Plummer can increase the tempo and get the ball toward Clermont’s strike runners. Delguy and Raka offer threats out wide, while Nanai-Seturo gives the team another dangerous option in space.
Clermont is not built around kicking possession away repeatedly. Plummer can manage territory and has demonstrated his ability to produce decisive kicks, but the larger attacking identity revolves around carrying, continuity and creating opportunities with ball in hand.
The defensive numbers provide the obvious counterpoint.
Conceding 708 points and 87 tries is too much for a team attempting to establish itself securely in the playoff places. Clermont’s attack repeatedly gave it opportunities to win games, but its defense too often required that attack to keep scoring.
That makes the arrival of additional size in the pack particularly interesting.
If Clermont can create a stronger physical foundation, improve its defensive consistency and still preserve the attacking freedom that produced 103 tries, it becomes a significantly more complete team.
Why Stade Marcel-Michelin Matters
Stade Marcel-Michelin remains central to Clermont’s identity and expectations.
With a capacity of about 19,000 and a supporter base known as the Yellow Army, the stadium gives ASM an environment capable of amplifying the team’s attacking momentum.
There were reminders of that in 2025-26. Clermont beat Perpignan 45-14 there and defeated Lyon 41-23.
But Marcel-Michelin also illustrated Clermont’s larger problem when Racing 92 arrived late in the season and won 41-13.
For a club trying to return to the playoffs, home advantage cannot merely produce memorable afternoons. It has to provide reliable points across the season.
Clermont’s supporters have seen the club win French championships in 2010 and 2017. The current team’s task is not to live off those achievements, but to make Marcel-Michelin a foundation for its next successful period.
Clermont’s Biggest Strength
Its ability to score tries.
Clermont produced 812 points and 103 tries last season. It has retained key attacking players and added Lam and Nanai-Seturo to a backline already featuring Plummer, Jauneau, Raka, Delguy and Loaloa.
There should be no shortage of ways for ASM to threaten defenses.
When Clermont establishes front-foot possession and gets its strike runners involved, it can score enough points to trouble virtually anyone.
That gives Urios something valuable: He does not need to manufacture an attacking identity from scratch.
The Biggest Question Facing ClermontCan the defense become good enough to support the attack?
Everything comes back to those 708 points conceded.
Clermont cannot expect its attack to solve every match. The difference between seventh and a meaningful playoff run may be found in the games in which ASM scores 20-something points rather than 40.
Swain and Ratuva add physicality. The pack has considerable size and depth. Urios has options.
Now Clermont needs those resources to translate into a team that is harder to score against.
If that happens, ASM’s ceiling changes considerably.
If it doesn’t, another season around the playoff line is easy to envision.
What Should We Expect From Clermont In 2026-27?
Clermont belongs in the Top 14 playoff conversation.
ASM was one position outside the top six last season despite its defensive problems, finished strongly and has strengthened several areas of the squad.
That does not automatically make Clermont a championship favorite.
The gap between possessing enough attacking quality to beat leading teams and producing playoff-level rugby consistently remains significant. Clermont has to demonstrate that its defense and game management can survive the difficult stretches of a Top 14 season.
A top-six finish is a reasonable target. From there, Clermont’s attack gives it the capacity to make a postseason opponent uncomfortable.
The club’s European campaign also provides another opportunity to turn its depth and attacking talent into tangible progress.
The broader direction appears positive. Clermont has retained important pieces, added experienced reinforcements and maintained coaching continuity.
Now comes the harder part: turning promise into consistency.
CEILING:
A top-six finish followed by a deep Top 14 playoff run, with Clermont’s strengthened squad also mounting a serious European challenge.
MOST LIKELY OUTCOME:
Clermont spends the season battling around the playoff places and has a legitimate opportunity to return to the Top 14’s top six.
FLOOR:
The defensive problems remain unresolved, close matches continue slipping away and Clermont again finishes in the crowded territory just outside the playoffs.
Clermont enters 2026-27 close enough to the Top 14’s upper tier to make another seventh-place finish feel like a missed opportunity. The attack already is dangerous. The squad appears deeper.
Whether ASM truly rises again depends on becoming a team that can stop opponents nearly as effectively as it can punish them.
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